Radiation hardening of Rare-Earth doped fiber amplifiers

We investigated the radiation hardening of optical fiber amplifiers operating in space environments. Through a real-time analysis in active configuration, we evaluated the role of Ce in the improvement of the amplifier performance against ionizing radiations. Ce-codoping is an efficient hardening solution, acting both in the limitation of defects in the host glass matrix of RE-doped optical fibers and in the stabilization of lasing properties of the Er3+-ions. On the one hand, in the nearinfrared region, radiation induced attenuation measurements show the absence of radiation induced P-related defect species in host glass matrix of the Ce-codoped active fibers; on the other hand, in the Ce-free fiber, the higher lifetime variation shows stronger local modifications around the Er3+-ions with the absence of Ce

The Roles of the S3MPC: Monitoring, Validation and Evolution of Sentinel-3 Altimetry Observations

The Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC) is tasked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to monitor the health of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites and ensure a high data quality to the users. This paper deals exclusively with the effort devoted to the altimeter and microwave radiometer, both components of the Surface Topography Mission (STM). The altimeters on Sentinel-3A and -3B are the first to operate in delay-Doppler or SAR mode over all Earth surfaces, which enables better spatial resolution of the signal in the along-track direction and improved noise reduction through multi-looking, whilst the radiometer is a two-channel nadir-viewing system. There are regular routine assessments of the instruments through investigation of telemetered housekeeping data, calibrations over selected sites and comparisons of geophysical retrievals with models, in situ data and other satellite systems. These are performed both to monitor the daily production, assessing the uncertainties and errors on the estimates, and also to characterize the long-term performance for climate science applications. This is critical because an undetected drift in performance could be misconstrued as a climate variation. As the data are used by the Copernicus Services (e.g., CMEMS, Global Land Monitoring Services) and by the research community over open ocean, coastal waters, sea ice, land ice, rivers and lakes, the validation activities encompass all these domains, with regular reports openly available. The S3MPC is also in charge of preparing improvements to the processing, and of the development and tuning of algorithms to improve their accuracy. This paper is thus the first refereed publication to bring together the analysis of SAR altimetry across all these different domains to highlight the benefits and existing challenges

Les sécheresses du Nordeste brésilien

Note portant sur l’auteur Note portant sur l’auteur Note portant sur l’auteur Le Nordeste brésilien qui comprend actuellement 36 millions d’habitants soit près du tiers de la population du pays, a toujours été éprouvé par les sécheresses. Mais ce n’est pas tant la faible quantité d’eau précipitée annuellement qui est la cause principale des sécheresses, mais plutôt l’irrégularité des précipitations au cours d’une même année. Dans la zone semi-aride, où la pluviométrie moyenne annuelle varie e..

Subseasonal coastal-trapped wave propagations in the Southeastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans : 2. Wave characteristics and connection with the equatorial variability

The objective of this study is to compare the characteristics of the oceanic teleconnection with the linear equatorial dynamics of two upwelling systems along the southwestern South American and African continents at subseasonal time scales (<120 days). Altimetric data analysis shows that the coastal variability remains coherent with the equatorial signal until 27 degrees S in the southeastern Pacific (SEP), while in the southeastern Atlantic (SEA) it fades out south of 12 degrees S. To explain this striking difference, our methodology is based on the experimentation with twin regional model configurations of the SEP and SEA Oceans. The estimation of free Coastal-Trapped Waves (CTWs) modal structures and associated contribution to coastal variability allows inferring and comparing the characteristics of each CTW mode in the two systems; namely, their forcings, amplitude, dissipation rate, and scattering. Results show that the Pacific subseasonal equatorial forcing is only 20% larger than in the Atlantic, but important differences in the relative contribution of each baroclinic mode are reported. The first baroclinic mode dominates the eastern equatorial Pacific variability, while in the eastern equatorial Atlantic, the second mode is the most energetic. This leads to a drastic increase in the dissipation and scattering of the remotely forced CTW in the SEA sector, compared to the coastal SEP. Concomitantly, south of 15 degrees S, the subseasonal coastal wind stress forcing is substantially more energetic in the SEA and participates in breaking the link between the equatorial forcing and the coastal variability. Our results are consistent with the solutions of a simple multimode CTW model. Plain Language Summary The Humboldt and the Benguela upwelling systems are connected to the equatorial variability. Part of the incoming eastward equatorial wave energy is transmitted southward along the South American and African coasts as Coastal-Trapped Waves, where they imprint on the ecosystem variability. At subseasonal time scales (<120 days), altimetry reveals that the coastal variability remains coherent with the equatorial signal until 27 degrees S in the southeastern Pacific, while in the Atlantic counterpart it fades out south of 12 degrees S. To explain this striking difference, we compare the characteristics of coastal waves between the two systems: their forcing at the equator, their dissipation and scattering along their propagation, and the energization by the coastal wind stress. We use a variety of ocean models of different complexity ranging from regional general circulation models to simple linear coastal models. Results show that the difference between the two systems regarding the connection with the equatorial variability can be attributed to the distinct characteristics of their equatorial forcing. The latter favors fast and weakly dissipative coastal wave in the Humboldt. Off southwestern Africa, the equatorially-forced coastal-trapped waves dissipate at approximate to 13 degrees S and the subseasonal coastal wind stress forcing which is energetic south of 15 degrees S, participates in breaking the link between the equatorial and coastal variabilities

Evidence of groundwater flow on Antizana ice-covered volcano, Ecuador

Hydrological and glaciological data were gathered in the watershed (1.37 km(2)) of the Antizana Glacier 15 (0.7 km(2)) in the periods 1997-2002 and 1995-2005, respectively. In addition, tracer experiments were carried out to analyse the flow through permeable morainic deposits located between the glacier snout and the runoff gauging station. Over 11 years, the mean specific net balance of the glacier was negative (-627 mm w.e.), despite the occurrence of positive values in the La Nina years (1999-2000). From the glacier net mass balance between 1997 and 2002, it was found that the mean flow originating from ice melt was significantly higher than the mean discharge measured at the hydrological station. Analyses of tracer experiments and of the different components of the hydrological balance suggest groundwater flow that originates below the glacier accounts for the remaining water. This result is important for regional analyses of available water resources and for the relationship between hydro-cryospheric processes and volcanic activity

Radiation-hard erbium optical fiber and fiber amplifier for both low- and high-dose space missions

International audienceWe present a new structure for erbium-doped optical fibers [hole-assisted carbon-coated, (HACC)] that, combined with an appropriate choice of codopants in the core, strongly enhances their radiation tolerance. We built an erbium doped fiber amplifier based on this HACC fiber and characterize its degradation under γ-ray doses up to 315 krad(SiO2) in the ON mode. The 31 dB amplifier is practically radiation insensitive, with a gain change of merely −2.2 × 10−3 dB∕krad. These performances authorize the use of HACC doped fibers and amplifiers for various applications in environments associated with today's missions (of doses up to 50 krad) and even for future space missions associated with higher dose constraints