Potential of Interplanetary Torques and Solar Modulation for Triggering Terrestrial Atmospheric and Lithospheric Events

The Sun is forced into an orbit around the barycenter of the solar system because of the changing mass distribution of the planets. Solar-planetary-lunar dynamic relationships may form a new basis for understanding and predicting cyclic solar forcing functions on the Earth's climate.Comment: Invited Paper at the Fourth UN/ESA Workshop on Basic Space Science, Cairo, Egypt, July 1994. 7 pages LaTeX. Accepted for publication in the journal Earth, Moon, and Planet

Sun's retrograde motion and violation of even-odd cycle rule in sunspot activity

The sum of sunspots number over an odd numbered 11 yr sunspot cycle exceeds that of its preceding even numbered cycle, and it is well known as Gnevyshev and Ohl rule (or G--O rule) after the names of the authors who discovered it in 1948. The G--O rule can be used to predict the sum of sunspot numbers of a forthcoming odd cycle from that of its preceding even cycle. But this is not always possible because occasionally the G--O rule is violated. So far no plausible reason is known either for the G--O rule or the violation of this rule. Here we showed the epochs of the violation of the G--O rule are close to the epochs of the Sun's retrograde orbital motion about the centre of mass of the solar system (i.e., the epochs at which the orbital angular momentum of the Sun is weakly negative). Using this result easy to predict the epochs of violation of the G--O rule well in advance. We also showed that the solar equatorial rotation rate determined from sunspot group data during the period 1879--2004 is correlated/anti-correlated to the Sun's orbital torque during before/after 1945. We have found the existence of a statistically significant $\sim$ 17 yr periodicity in the solar equatorial rotation rate. The implications of these findings for understanding the mechanism behind the solar cycle and the solar-terrestrial relationship are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRA

Municipal Development Regulations and Agriculture Across Newfoundland and Labrador: A Scoping Review

Communities, particularly those rural and remote, must bolster food security efforts and build a robust local food infrastructure to promote health and to protect against supply chain disruption. Yet these efforts must look inwards, to the community and current developments, to expand agricultural capacity without expanding the agricultural footprint and climate impact. This scoping review charted how the municipalities of Newfoundland and Labrador defined, zoned and regulated agricultural activities with a focus on how urban agriculture and personal food production would be regulated. This review identified extensive regulatory barriers to small-scale agriculture from a persistence of outdated standards and conditions. Innovation and acceptance of urban agriculture appeared in a few communities whose regulations and experience could guide change throughout the province. A regulatory framework is proposed for small-scale urban agriculture from elements already in use within communities that defines urban agriculture as an accessory use class to simplify and standardize municipal agricultural regulations. As incorporated municipal boundaries historically contain the most arable lands and the majority of the provincial workforce, sustainable local agriculture must start with a renegotiation of municipal relationships with agriculture. Keywords: urban agriculture, municipal regulations, community development, food security  _____________________________________   Règlements sur le développement municipal et agricole à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador : un examen de la portée Les communautés, en particulier celles rurales et éloignées, doivent renforcer les efforts de sécurité alimentaire et construire une infrastructure alimentaire locale solide pour promouvoir la santé et se protéger contre les perturbations de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. Pourtant, ces efforts doivent se tourner vers l'intérieur, vers la communauté et les développements actuels, pour accroître la capacité agricole sans augmenter l'empreinte agricole et l'impact climatique. Cet examen de la portée a tracé la façon dont les municipalités de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador ont défini, zoné et réglementé les activités agricoles en mettant l'accent sur la façon dont l'agriculture urbaine et la production alimentaire personnelle seraient réglementées. Cet examen a identifié d'importants obstacles réglementaires à l'agriculture à petite échelle dus à la persistance de normes et de conditions obsolètes. L'innovation et l'acceptation de l'agriculture urbaine sont apparues dans quelques collectivités dont les règlements et l'expérience pourraient guider le changement dans toute la province. Un cadre réglementaire est proposé pour l'agriculture urbaine à petite échelle à partir d'éléments déjà utilisés au sein des communautés qui définit l'agriculture urbaine comme une classe d'utilisation accessoire pour simplifier et normaliser les réglementations agricoles municipales. Comme les limites municipales incorporées contiennent historiquement la plupart des terres arables et la majorité de la main-d'œuvre provinciale, l'agriculture locale durable doit commencer par une renégociation des relations municipales avec l'agriculture

Post-Newtonian limitations on measurement of the PPN parameters caused by motion of gravitating bodies

We derive explicit Lorentz-invariant solution of the Einstein and null geodesic equations for data processing of the time delay and ranging experiments in gravitational field of moving gravitating bodies of the solar system - the Sun and major planets. We discuss general-relativistic interpretation of these experiments and the limitations imposed by motion of the massive bodies on measurement of the parameters gamma_{PPN}, beta_{PPN} and delta_{PPN} of the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure; accepted for publication to MNRA

The barycentric motion of exoplanet host stars: tests of solar spin-orbit coupling

Empirical evidence suggests a tantalising but unproven link between various indicators of solar activity and the barycentric motion of the Sun. The latter is exemplified by transitions between regular and more disordered motion modulated by the motions of the giant planets, and rare periods of retrograde motion with negative orbital angular momentum. An examination of the barycentric motion of exoplanet host stars, and their stellar activity cycles, has the potential of proving or disproving the Sun's motion as an underlying factor in the complex patterns of short- and long-term solar variability indices, by establishing whether such correlations exist in other planetary systems. A variety of complex patterns of barycentric motions of exoplanet host stars is demonstrated, depending on the number, masses and orbits of the planets. Each of the behavioural types proposed to correlate with solar activity are also evident in exoplanet host stars: repetitive patterns influenced by massive multiple planets, epochs of rapid change in orbital angular momentum, and intervals of negative orbital angular momentum. The study provides the basis for independent investigations of the widely-studied but unproven suggestion that the Sun's motion is somehow linked to various indicators of solar activity. We show that, because of the nature of their barycentric motions, the host stars HD168443 and HD74156 offer particularly powerful tests of this hypothesis.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Predicting the Amplitude of a Solar Cycle Using the North-South Asymmetry in the Previous Cycle: II. An Improved Prediction for Solar Cycle~24

Recently, using Greenwich and Solar Optical Observing Network sunspot group data during the period 1874-2006, (Javaraiah, MNRAS, 377, L34, 2007: Paper I), has found that: (1) the sum of the areas of the sunspot groups in 0-10 deg latitude interval of the Sun's northern hemisphere and in the time-interval of -1.35 year to +2.15 year from the time of the preceding minimum of a solar cycle n correlates well (corr. coeff. r=0.947) with the amplitude (maximum of the smoothed monthly sunspot number) of the next cycle n+1. (2) The sum of the areas of the spot groups in 0-10 deg latitude interval of the southern hemisphere and in the time-interval of 1.0 year to 1.75 year just after the time of the maximum of the cycle n correlates very well (r=0.966) with the amplitude of cycle n+1. Using these relations, (1) and (2), the values 112 + or - 13 and 74 + or -10, respectively, were predicted in Paper I for the amplitude of the upcoming cycle 24. Here we found that in case of (1), the north-south asymmetry in the area sum of a cycle n also has a relationship, say (3), with the amplitude of cycle n+1, which is similar to (1) but more statistically significant (r=0.968) like (2). By using (3) it is possible to predict the amplitude of a cycle with a better accuracy by about 13 years in advance, and we get 103 + or -10 for the amplitude of the upcoming cycle 24. However, we found a similar but a more statistically significant (r=0.983) relationship, say (4), by using the sum of the area sum used in (2) and the north-south difference used in (3). By using (4) it is possible to predict the amplitude of a cycle by about 9 years in advance with a high accuracy and we get 87 + or - 7 for the amplitude of cycle 24.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, Published in Solar Physics 252, 419-439 (2008

A shared frequency set between the historical mid-latitude aurora records and the global surface temperature

Herein we show that the historical records of mid-latitude auroras from 1700 to 1966 present oscillations with periods of about 9, 10-11, 20-21, 30 and 60 years. The same frequencies are found in proxy and instrumental global surface temperature records since 1650 and 1850, respectively and in several planetary and solar records. Thus, the aurora records reveal a physical link between climate change and astronomical oscillations. Likely, there exists a modulation of the cosmic ray flux reaching the Earth and/or of the electric properties of the ionosphere. The latter, in turn, have the potentiality of modulating the global cloud cover that ultimately drives the climate oscillations through albedo oscillations. In particular, a quasi 60-year large cycle is quite evident since 1650 in all climate and astronomical records herein studied, which also include an historical record of meteorite fall in China from 619 to 1943. These findings support the thesis that climate oscillations have an astronomical origin. We show that a harmonic constituent model based on the major astronomical frequencies revealed in the aurora records is able to forecast with a reasonable accuracy the decadal and multidecadal temperature oscillations from 1950 to 2010 using the temperature data before 1950, and vice versa. The existence of a natural 60-year modulation of the global surface temperature induced by astronomical mechanisms, by alone, would imply that at least 60-70% of the warming observed since 1970 has been naturally induced. Moreover, the climate may stay approximately stable during the next decades because the 60-year cycle has entered in its cooling phase.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure

Low temperature pyrolysis of wood waste materials

The pyrolysis of jack pine bark, jack pine sawdust, and cellulose powder has been studied by thermogravimetric (TG), and isothermal weight-loss methods in both inert and oxidizing atmospheres. The effects of particle size, solvent extraction, and a number of additives on the low temperature pyrolysis of jack pine bark have also been examined. Samples were analysed by low-temperature gas adsorption and the bark characterized by infrared spectroscopy. Residues were analysed for CHN contents and structural changes which occurred on heating were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The TG characteristics of bark were affected only slightly by particle size, solvent extraction, and additives. Isothermal decomposition data for bark and sawdust were similar and closely resembled established kinetic expressions associated with inorganic decomposition reactions controlled by diffusion processes. The data for cellulose were described by at least tv70 kinetic stages with the second or principal region resembling a standard kinetic expression for a phaseboundary controlled reaction. The pyrolysis data were found to fit a reaction rate compensation curve, often associated with oxidation processes but more generally with heterogeneous catalytic reactions. The compensation curve also relates the kinetic parameters found by other workers for a large variety of wood-derived materials