133 research outputs found
The effect of islands on low frequency equatorial motions
We develop a complete linear theory for the effects of islands on low frequency waves of the kind thought to be important in the seasonal and interannual variations of the Equatorial ocean circulation. For an island whose meridional extent is small compared to R, the Equatorial radius of deformation, the waves pass the island almost undisturbed : the current incident on the island flow around it to the north and south and continue downstream in the lee of the island. For islands comparable to or greater in extent than R the mass fluxincident on the island is largely reflected in a manner similar to the case of a meridionally infinite barrier. An incident Equatorial Kelvin wave is reflected as long Rossby waves; symetric long Rossby waves are reflected as Equatorial Kelvin waves while antisymetric ones stop at the island barrier. In allcases a boundary current composed a short Rossby waves forms at the Eastern side of the island and accomplishes the required meridional redistribution of the zonal mass flux. Calculations carried out for the major mid-ocean low latitude islands (The Gilberts and Galapagos in the Pacific; Sao Tome in the Atlantic; the Maldives in the Indian Ocean) show that the propagation of long waves will not be significantly affected by any of these islands and that smallperturbations occur only in their immediate vicinity. (Résumé d'auteur
Effect of low latitude Western boundary gaps on the reflection of Equatorial motions
The Western Tropical Pacific is thought to be an important zone for generating El Nino : reflections at the boundary make it a potential source region of Equatorial Kelvin waves. Calculations of the effect of a gappy Western boundary on the reflection process are carried out in the framework of the low frequency limit of the shallow water equations and are highly idealized. The method is also applied to a schematic version of the flow through the Indonesian seas from the Western Pacific to the Indian oceans. The results indicate somestrong sensitivities to the location of the gap and to the structure of the incoming flows. In addition, the results can be quite different, depending on whether the zonal extend of the gap is assumed to be infinite or finite. (More precisely, the latter means that the extend of the gap is short compared with the zonal wavelength of the relevant free waves at that frequency). In view of the complexity of the results for even such a simplified model, it will be very difficult to be confident of any modelling study of the Indonesian throughflow short of a highly resolved numerical calculation with a detailed representation of the geometry and bathymetr
Observations of Low Frequency Solar Radio Bursts from the Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory
The Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory (RSTO; www.rosseobservatory.ie) was
established at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland (53 05'38.9", 7 55'12.7") in
2010 to study solar radio bursts and the response of the Earth's ionosphere and
geomagnetic field. To date, three Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency
Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO)
spectrometers have been installed, with the capability of observing in the
frequency range 10-870 MHz. The receivers are fed simultaneously by biconical
and log-periodic antennas. Nominally, frequency spectra in the range 10-400 MHz
are obtained with 4 sweeps per second over 600 channels. Here, we describe the
RSTO solar radio spectrometer set-up, and present dynamic spectra of a sample
of Type II, III and IV radio bursts. In particular, we describe fine-scale
structure observed in Type II bursts, including band splitting and rapidly
varying herringbone features
Progressive transformation of a flux rope to an ICME
The solar wind conditions at one astronomical unit (AU) can be strongly
disturbed by the interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). A subset,
called magnetic clouds (MCs), is formed by twisted flux ropes that transport an
important amount of magnetic flux and helicity which is released in CMEs. At 1
AU from the Sun, the magnetic structure of MCs is generally modeled neglecting
their expansion during the spacecraft crossing. However, in some cases, MCs
present a significant expansion. We present here an analysis of the huge and
significantly expanding MC observed by the Wind spacecraft during 9 and 10
November, 2004. After determining an approximated orientation for the flux rope
using the minimum variance method, we precise the orientation of the cloud axis
relating its front and rear magnetic discontinuities using a direct method.
This method takes into account the conservation of the azimuthal magnetic flux
between the in- and out-bound branches, and is valid for a finite impact
parameter (i.e., not necessarily a small distance between the spacecraft
trajectory and the cloud axis). Moreover, using the direct method, we find that
the ICME is formed by a flux rope (MC) followed by an extended coherent
magnetic region. These observations are interpreted considering the existence
of a previous larger flux rope, which partially reconnected with its
environment in the front. These findings imply that the ejected flux rope is
progressively peeled by reconnection and transformed to the observed ICME (with
a remnant flux rope in the front part).Comment: Solar Physics (in press
An Extreme Solar Event of 20 January 2005: Properties of the Flare and the Origin of Energetic Particles
The extreme solar and SEP event of 20 January 2005 is analyzed from two
perspectives. Firstly, we study features of the main phase of the flare, when
the strongest emissions from microwaves up to 200 MeV gamma-rays were observed.
Secondly, we relate our results to a long-standing controversy on the origin of
SEPs arriving at Earth, i.e., acceleration in flares, or shocks ahead of CMEs.
All emissions from microwaves up to 2.22 MeV line gamma-rays during the main
flare phase originated within a compact structure located just above sunspot
umbrae. A huge radio burst with a frequency maximum at 30 GHz was observed,
indicating the presence of a large number of energetic electrons in strong
magnetic fields. Thus, protons and electrons responsible for flare emissions
during its main phase were accelerated within the magnetic field of the active
region. The leading, impulsive parts of the GLE, and highest-energy gamma-rays
identified with pi^0-decay emission, are similar and correspond in time. The
origin of the pi^0-decay gamma-rays is argued to be the same as that of lower
energy emissions. We estimate the sky-plane speed of the CME to be 2000-2600
km/s, i.e., high, but of the same order as preceding non-GLE-related CMEs from
the same active region. Hence, the flare itself rather than the CME appears to
determine the extreme nature of this event. We conclude that the acceleration,
at least, to sub-relativistic energies, of electrons and protons, responsible
for both the flare emissions and the leading spike of SEP/GLE by 07 UT, are
likely to have occurred simultaneously within the flare region. We do not rule
out a probable contribution from particles accelerated in the CME-driven shock
for the leading GLE spike, which seemed to dominate later on.Comment: 34 pages, 14 Postscript figures. Solar Physics, accepted. A typo
corrected. The original publication is available at
http://www.springerlink.co
Categorizing Different Approaches to the Cosmological Constant Problem
We have found that proposals addressing the old cosmological constant problem
come in various categories. The aim of this paper is to identify as many
different, credible mechanisms as possible and to provide them with a code for
future reference. We find that they all can be classified into five different
schemes of which we indicate the advantages and drawbacks.
Besides, we add a new approach based on a symmetry principle mapping real to
imaginary spacetime.Comment: updated version, accepted for publicatio
Temperatura mínima de relva em Santa Maria, RS: climatologia, variabilidade interanual e tendência histórica
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Energetic particle influence on the Earth's atmosphere
This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally
galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere
are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere
On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection
A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)
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