519 research outputs found
Relativistic suppression of Auger recombination in Weyl semimetals
Auger recombination (AR) being electron-hole annihilation with
energy-momentum transfer to another carrier is believed to speed up in
materials with small band gap. We theoretically show that this rule is violated
in gapless three-dimensional materials with ultra-relativistic electron-hole
dispersion, Weyl semimetals (WSM). Namely, AR is prohibited by energy-momentum
conservation laws in prototypical WSM with a single Weyl node, even in the
presence of anisotropy and tilt. In real multi-node WSM, the geometric
dissimilarity of nodal dispersions enables weak inter-node AR, which is further
suppressed by strong screening due to large number of nodes. While partial AR
rates between the nodes of the same node group are mutually equal, the
inter-group processes are non-reciprocal, so that one of groups is
geometrically protected from AR. Our calculations show that geometrical
protection can help prolonging AR lifetime by the two orders of magnitude, up
to the level of nanoseconds.Comment: 6 pages + 10 pages of supporting informatio
The role of salinity in the decadal variability of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Climate Dynamics 33 (2009): 777-793, doi:10.1007/s00382-008-0523-2.An OGCM hindcast is used to investigate the linkages between North Atlantic Ocean
salinity and circulation changes during 1963–2003. The focus is on the eastern subpolar
region consisting of the Irminger Sea and the eastern North Atlantic where a careful
assessment shows that the simulated interannual to decadal salinity changes in the upper
1500 m reproduce well those derived from the available record of hydrographic
measurements. In the model, the variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning
circulation (MOC) is primarily driven by changes in deep water formation taking place in
the Irminger Sea and, to a lesser extent, the Labrador Sea. Both are strongly influenced by
the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The modeled interannual to decadal salinity changes
in the subpolar basins are mostly controlled by circulation-driven anomalies of freshwater
flux convergence, although surface salinity restoring to climatology and other boundary
fluxes each account for approximately 25% of the variance. The NAO plays an important
role: a positive NAO phase is associated with increased precipitation, reduced northward
salt transport by the wind-driven intergyre gyre, and increased southward flows of
freshwater across the Greenland-Scotland ridge. Since the NAO largely controlled deep
convection in the subpolar gyre, fresher waters are found near the sinking region during
convective events. This markedly differs from the active influence on the MOC that salinity
exerts at decadal and longer timescales in most coupled models. The intensification of the
MOC that follows a positive NAO phase by about 2 years does not lead to an increase in
the northward salt transport into the subpolar domain at low frequencies because it is
cancelled by the concomitant intensification of the subpolar gyre which shifts the subpolar
front eastward and reduces the northward salt transport by the North Atlantic Current
waters. This differs again from most coupled models, where the gyre intensification
precedes that of the MOC by several years.Support from NSF Grant
82677800 with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and (to CF) from the Institut
universitaire de France and European FP6 project DYNAMITE (contract 003903-GOCE)
and (to JD) from the NOAA Office of Hydrologic Development through a scientific
appointment administered by UCAR is gratefully acknowledged
The role of ongoing dendritic oscillations in single-neuron dynamics
The dendritic tree contributes significantly to the elementary computations a neuron performs while converting its synaptic inputs into action potential output. Traditionally, these computations have been characterized as temporally local, near-instantaneous mappings from the current input of the cell to its current output, brought about by somatic summation of dendritic contributions that are generated in spatially localized functional compartments. However, recent evidence about the presence of oscillations in dendrites suggests a qualitatively different mode of operation: the instantaneous phase of such oscillations can depend on a long history of inputs, and under appropriate conditions, even dendritic oscillators that are remote may interact through synchronization. Here, we develop a mathematical framework to analyze the interactions of local dendritic oscillations, and the way these interactions influence single cell computations. Combining weakly coupled oscillator methods with cable theoretic arguments, we derive phase-locking states for multiple oscillating dendritic compartments. We characterize how the phase-locking properties depend on key parameters of the oscillating dendrite: the electrotonic properties of the (active) dendritic segment, and the intrinsic properties of the dendritic oscillators. As a direct consequence, we show how input to the dendrites can modulate phase-locking behavior and hence global dendritic coherence. In turn, dendritic coherence is able to gate the integration and propagation of synaptic signals to the soma, ultimately leading to an effective control of somatic spike generation. Our results suggest that dendritic oscillations enable the dendritic tree to operate on more global temporal and spatial scales than previously thought
Promoting regional development through a collaborative project in entrepreneurship education: lessons from a regional experiment to develop entrepreneurial competences in children and youngsters
The chapter focuses on the reflection around the relationship between entrepreneurial empowerment and regional development, based on the assumptions, methodology and results of a self-sustained supramunicipal project in entrepreneurship education, promoted by a wide network of partners representing all the municipalities of Baixo Alentejo, Portugal, and coordinated by the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja). The project Promoting Entrepreneurship Education at the Schools of Baixo Alentejo (PEEBA) was carried out in collaboration with Elementary Schools (1st to 2nd Ciclos) and kindergartens of Baixo Alentejo with the objective to nurture entrepreneurial competencies in children and youngsters aged 3–12 through practical and experiential entrepreneurship education. It provided them with entrepreneurial skills and attitudes that will increase their opportunities, by helping them face their lives with more initiative and confidence and/or be more proactive at work, or even start their own business in a near future, in the hope that this may eventually contribute to reduce the brain drain in Baixo Alentejo.
With the motto the socioeconomic future of our region will be shaped by the students we are educating now, the PEEBA is innovative and unique, since it consists in a platform that brings together all the key stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurship education within all the municipalities of a NUTS, in this particular case Baixo Alentejo, who show an interest in working collaboratively for a common goal: to create a shared ecosystem favourable to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial capacity
Coralline algal Barium as indicator for 20th century northwestern North Atlantic surface ocean freshwater variability
During the past decades climate and freshwater dynamics in the northwestern North Atlantic have undergone major changes. Large-scale freshening episodes, related to polar freshwater pulses, have had a strong influence on ocean variability in this climatically important region. However, little is known about variability before 1950, mainly due to the lack of long-term high-resolution marine proxy archives. Here we present the first multidecadal-length records of annually resolved Ba/Ca variations from Northwest Atlantic coralline algae. We observe positive relationships between algal Ba/Ca ratios from two Newfoundland sites and salinity observations back to 1950. Both records capture episodical multi-year freshening events during the 20th century. Variability in algal Ba/Ca is sensitive to freshwater-induced changes in upper ocean stratification, which affect the transport of cold, Ba-enriched deep waters onto the shelf (highly stratified equals less Ba/Ca). Algal Ba/Ca ratios therefore may serve as a new resource for reconstructing past surface ocean freshwater changes
Large scale patterns in vertical distribution and behavior of mesopelagic scattering layers
Recent studies suggest that previous estimates of mesopelagic biomasses are severely biased, with
the new, higher estimates underlining the need to unveil behaviourally mediated coupling between shallow and deep ocean habitats. We analysed vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM)
of mesopelagic acoustic scattering layers (SLs) recorded at 38 kHz across oceanographic regimes encountered during the circumglobal Malaspina expedition. Mesopelagic SLs were observed in all areas covered, but vertical distributions and DVM patterns varied markedly. The distribution of mesopelagic backscatter was deepest in the southern Indian Ocean (weighted mean daytime depth: WMD 590 m) and shallowest at the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern Pacific (WMD 350 m). DVM was evident in all areas covered, on average ~50% of mesopelagic backscatter made daily excursions from mesopelagic depths to shallow waters. There were marked differences in migrating proportions between the regions, ranging from ~20% in the Indian Ocean to ~90% in the Eastern Pacific. Overall the data suggest strong spatial gradients in mesopelagic DVM patterns, with implied ecological and biogeochemical consequences. Our results suggest that parts of this spatial variability can be explained by horizontal patterns in physical-chemical properties of water masses, such as oxygen, temperature and turbidity.En prensa2,927
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Decadal predictions of the cooling and freshening of the North Atlantic in the 1960s and the role of ocean circulation
In the 1960s North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SST) cooled rapidly. The magnitude of the cooling was largest in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG), and was coincident with a rapid freshening of the SPG. Here we analyze hindcasts of the 1960s North Atlantic cooling made with the UK Met Office’s decadal prediction system (DePreSys), which is initialised using observations. It is shown that DePreSys captures—with a lead time of several years—the observed cooling and freshening of the North Atlantic SPG. DePreSys also captures changes in SST over the wider North Atlantic and surface climate impacts over the wider region, such as changes in atmospheric circulation in winter and sea ice extent. We show that initialisation of an anomalously weak Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and hence weak northward heat transport, is crucial for DePreSys to predict the magnitude of the observed cooling. Such an anomalously weak AMOC is not captured when ocean observations are not assimilated (i.e. it is not a forced response in this model). The freshening of the SPG is also dominated by ocean salt transport changes in DePreSys; in particular, the simulation of advective freshwater anomalies analogous to the Great Salinity Anomaly were key. Therefore, DePreSys suggests that ocean dynamics played an important role in the cooling of the North Atlantic in the 1960s, and that this event was predictable
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Mechanisms of decadal variability in the Labrador Sea and the wider North Atlantic in a high-resolution climate model
A necessary step before assessing the performance of decadal predictions is the evaluation of the processes that bring memory to the climate system, both in climate models and observations. These mechanisms are particularly relevant in the North Atlantic, where the ocean circulation, related to both the Subpolar Gyre and the Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is thought to be important for driving significant heat content anomalies. Recently, a rapid decline in observed densities in the deep Labrador Sea has pointed to an ongoing slowdown of the AMOC strength taking place since the mid 90s, a decline also hinted by in-situ observations from the RAPID array.
This study explores the use of Labrador Sea densities as a precursor of the ocean circulation changes, by analysing a 300-year long simulation with the state-of-the-art coupled model HadGEM3-GC2. The major drivers of Labrador Sea density variability are investigated, and are characterised by three major contributions. First, the integrated effect of local surface heat fluxes, mainly driven by year-to-year changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation, which accounts for 62% of the total variance. Additionally, two multidecadal-to-centennial contributions from the Greenland-Scotland Ridge outflows are quantified; the first associated with freshwater exports via the East Greenland Current, and the second with density changes in the Denmark Strait Overflow. Finally, evidence is shown that decadal trends in Labrador Sea densities are followed by important atmospheric impacts. In particular, a negative winter NAO response appears to follow the positive Labrador Sea density trends, and provides a phase reversal mechanism
Exceptional twentieth-century slowdown in Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation
Possible changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) provide a key source of uncertainty regarding future climate change. Maps of temperature trends over the twentieth century show a conspicuous region of cooling in the northern Atlantic. Here we present multiple lines of evidence suggesting that this cooling may be due to a reduction in the AMOC over the twentieth century and particularly after 1970. Since 1990 the AMOC seems to have partly recovered. This time evolution is consistently suggested by an AMOC index based on sea surface temperatures, by the hemispheric temperature difference, by coral-based proxies and by oceanic measurements. We discuss a possible contribution of the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet to the slowdown. Using a multi-proxy temperature reconstruction for the AMOC index suggests that the AMOC weakness after 1975 is an unprecedented event in the past millennium (p > 0.99). Further melting of Greenland in the coming decades could contribute to further weakening of the AMOC
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