353 research outputs found
A multi-model assessment of the impact of sea spray geoengineering on cloud droplet number
Artificially increasing the albedo of marine boundary layer clouds by the mechanical emission of sea spray aerosol has been proposed as a geoengineering technique to slow the warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. A previous global model study (Korhonen et al., 2010) found that only modest increases (< 20%) and sometimes even decreases in cloud drop number (CDN) concentrations would result from emission scenarios calculated using a windspeed dependent geoengineering flux parameterisation. Here we extend that work to examine the conditions under which decreases in CDN can occur, and use three independent global models to quantify maximum achievable CDN changes. We find that decreases in CDN can occur when at least three of the following conditions are met: the injected particle number is < 100 cm<sup>â3</sup>, the injected diameter is > 250â300 nm, the background aerosol loading is large (â„ 150 cm<sup>â3</sup>) and the in-cloud updraught velocity is low (< 0.2 m s<sup>â1</sup>). With lower background loadings and/or increased updraught velocity, significant increases in CDN can be achieved. None of the global models predict a decrease in CDN as a result of geoengineering, although there is considerable diversity in the calculated efficiency of geoengineering, which arises from the diversity in the simulated marine aerosol distributions. All three models show a small dependence of geoengineering efficiency on the injected particle size and the geometric standard deviation of the injected mode. However, the achievability of significant cloud drop enhancements is strongly dependent on the cloud updraught speed. With an updraught speed of 0.1 m s<sup>â1</sup> a global mean CDN of 375 cm<sup>â3</sup> (previously estimated to cancel the forcing caused by CO<sub>2</sub> doubling) is achievable in only about 50% of grid boxes which have > 50% cloud cover, irrespective of the amount of aerosol injected. But at stronger updraft speeds (0.2 m s<sup>â1</sup>), higher values of CDN are achievable due to the elevated in-cloud supersaturations. Achieving a value of 375 cm<sup>â3</sup> in regions dominated by stratocumulus clouds with relatively weak updrafts cannot be attained regardless of the number of injected particles, thereby limiting the efficacy of sea spray geoengineering
Impact of P inputs on source-sink P dynamics of sediment along an agricultural ditch network
peer-reviewedPhosphorus (P) loss from intensive dairy farms is a pressure on water quality in agricultural catchments. At farm scale, P sources can enter in-field drains and open ditches, resulting in transfer along ditch networks and delivery into nearby streams. Open ditches could be a potential location for P mitigation if the right location was identified, depending on P sources entering the ditch and the source-sink dynamics at the sediment-water interface. The objective of this study was to identify the right location along a ditch to mitigate P losses on an intensive dairy farm. High spatial resolution grab samples for water quality, along with sediment and bankside samples, were collected along an open ditch network to characterise the P dynamics within the ditch. Phosphorus inputs to the ditch adversely affected water quality, and a step change in P concentrations (increase in mean dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) from 0.054 to 0.228 mg Lâ1) midway along the section of the ditch sampled, signalled the influence of a point source entering the ditch. Phosphorus inputs altered sediment P sorption properties as P accumulated along the length of the ditch. Accumulation of bankside and sediment labile extractable P, Mehlich 3 P (M3P) (from 13 to 97 mg kgâ1) resulted in a decrease in P binding energies (k) to < 1 L mgâ1 at downstream points and raised the equilibrium P concentrations (EPC0) from 0.07 to 4.61 mg Lâ1 along the ditch. The increase in EPC0 was in line with increasing dissolved and total P in water, demonstrating the role of sediment downstream in this ditch as a secondary source of P to water. Implementation of intervention measures are needed to both mitigate P loss and remediate sediment to restore the sink properties. In-ditch measures need to account for a physicochemical lag time before improvements in water quality will be observed
Is null-point reconnection important for solar flux emergence?
The role of null-point reconnection in a 3D numerical MHD model of solar
emerging flux is investigated. The model consists of a twisted magnetic flux
tube rising through a stratified convection zone and atmosphere to interact and
reconnect with a horizontal overlying magnetic field in the atmosphere. Null
points appear as the reconnection begins and persist throughout the rest of the
emergence, where they can be found mostly in the model photosphere and
transition region, forming two loose clusters on either side of the emerging
flux tube. Up to 26 nulls are present at any one time, and tracking in time
shows that there is a total of 305 overall, despite the initial simplicity of
the magnetic field configuration. We find evidence for the reality of the nulls
in terms of their methods of creation and destruction, their balance of signs,
their long lifetimes, and their geometrical stability. We then show that due to
the low parallel electric fields associated with the nulls, null-point
reconnection is not the main type of magnetic reconnection involved in the
interaction of the newly emerged flux with the overlying field. However, the
large number of nulls implies that the topological structure of the magnetic
field must be very complex and the importance of reconnection along separators
or separatrix surfaces for flux emergence cannot be ruled out.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures. Added one referenc
Multi-Wavelength Observations of a Flux Rope Failed in the Eruption and Associated M-Class Flare from NOAA AR 11045
We present the multi-wavelength observations of a flux rope that was trying
to erupt from NOAA AR 11045 and the associated M-class solar flare on 12
February 2010 using space and ground based observations from TRACE, STEREO,
SOHO/MDI, Hinode/XRT and BBSO. While the flux rope was rising from the active
region, an M1.1/2F class flare was triggered nearby one of its footpoints. We
suggest that the flare triggering was due to the reconnection of a rising flux
rope with the surrounding low-lying magnetic loops. The flux rope reached a
projected height of ~0.15 Rs with a speed of ~90 km/s while the soft X-ray flux
enhanced gradually during its rise. The flux rope was suppressed by an
overlying field and the filled plasma moved towards the negative polarity field
to the west of its activation site. We find the first observational evidence of
the initial suppression of a flux rope due to a remnant filament visible both
at chromospheric and coronal temperatures that evolved couple of days before at
the same location in the active region. SOHO/MDI magnetograms show the
emergence of a bipole ~12 h prior to the flare initiation. The emerged negative
polarity moved towards the flux rope activation site, and flare triggering near
the photospheric polarity inversion line (PIL) took place. The motion of the
negative polarity region towards PIL helped in the build-up of magnetic energy
at the flare and flux rope activation site. This study provides a unique
observational evidence of a rising flux rope that failed to erupt due to a
remnant filament and overlying magnetic field, as well as associated triggering
of an M-class flare.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, Sol. Phy
Strength prediction of adhesive joints after cyclic moisture conditioning using a cohesive zone model
Physics of Solar Prominences: II - Magnetic Structure and Dynamics
Observations and models of solar prominences are reviewed. We focus on
non-eruptive prominences, and describe recent progress in four areas of
prominence research: (1) magnetic structure deduced from observations and
models, (2) the dynamics of prominence plasmas (formation and flows), (3)
Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) waves in prominences and (4) the formation and
large-scale patterns of the filament channels in which prominences are located.
Finally, several outstanding issues in prominence research are discussed, along
with observations and models required to resolve them.Comment: 75 pages, 31 pictures, review pape
Modeling the Subsurface Structure of Sunspots
While sunspots are easily observed at the solar surface, determining their
subsurface structure is not trivial. There are two main hypotheses for the
subsurface structure of sunspots: the monolithic model and the cluster model.
Local helioseismology is the only means by which we can investigate
subphotospheric structure. However, as current linear inversion techniques do
not yet allow helioseismology to probe the internal structure with sufficient
confidence to distinguish between the monolith and cluster models, the
development of physically realistic sunspot models are a priority for
helioseismologists. This is because they are not only important indicators of
the variety of physical effects that may influence helioseismic inferences in
active regions, but they also enable detailed assessments of the validity of
helioseismic interpretations through numerical forward modeling. In this paper,
we provide a critical review of the existing sunspot models and an overview of
numerical methods employed to model wave propagation through model sunspots. We
then carry out an helioseismic analysis of the sunspot in Active Region 9787
and address the serious inconsistencies uncovered by
\citeauthor{gizonetal2009}~(\citeyear{gizonetal2009,gizonetal2009a}). We find
that this sunspot is most probably associated with a shallow, positive
wave-speed perturbation (unlike the traditional two-layer model) and that
travel-time measurements are consistent with a horizontal outflow in the
surrounding moat.Comment: 73 pages, 19 figures, accepted by Solar Physic
Lorentz breaking Effective Field Theory and observational tests
Analogue models of gravity have provided an experimentally realizable test
field for our ideas on quantum field theory in curved spacetimes but they have
also inspired the investigation of possible departures from exact Lorentz
invariance at microscopic scales. In this role they have joined, and sometime
anticipated, several quantum gravity models characterized by Lorentz breaking
phenomenology. A crucial difference between these speculations and other ones
associated to quantum gravity scenarios, is the possibility to carry out
observational and experimental tests which have nowadays led to a broad range
of constraints on departures from Lorentz invariance. We shall review here the
effective field theory approach to Lorentz breaking in the matter sector,
present the constraints provided by the available observations and finally
discuss the implications of the persisting uncertainty on the composition of
the ultra high energy cosmic rays for the constraints on the higher order,
analogue gravity inspired, Lorentz violations.Comment: 47 pages, 4 figures. Lecture Notes for the IX SIGRAV School on
"Analogue Gravity", Como (Italy), May 2011. V.3. Typo corrected, references
adde
Genetics of skin color variation in Europeans: genome-wide association studies with functional follow-up
In the International Visible Trait Genetics (VisiGen) Consortium, we investigated the genetics of human skin color by combining a series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a total of 17,262 Europeans with functional follow-up of discovered loci. Our GWAS provide the first genome-wide significant evidence for chromosome 20q11.22 harboring the ASIP gene being explicitly associated with skin color in Europeans. In addition, genomic loci at 5p13.2 (SLC45A2), 6p25.3 (IRF4), 15q13.1 (HERC2/OCA2), and 16q24.3 (MC1R) were confirmed to be involved in skin coloration in Europeans. In follow-up gene expression and regulation studies of 22 genes in 20q11.22, we highlighted two novel genes EIF2S2 and GSS, serving as competing functional candidates in this region and providing future research lines. A genetically inferred skin color score obtained from the 9 top-associated SNPs from 9 genes in 940 worldwide samples (HGDP-CEPH) showed a clear gradual pattern in Western Eurasians similar to the distribution of physical skin color, suggesting the used 9 SNPs as suitable markers for DNA prediction of skin color in Europeans and neighboring populations, relevant in future forensic and anthropological investigations
The Theory of Brown Dwarfs and Extrasolar Giant Planets
Straddling the traditional realms of the planets and the stars, objects below
the edge of the main sequence have such unique properties, and are being
discovered in such quantities, that one can rightly claim that a new field at
the interface of planetary science and and astronomy is being born. In this
review, we explore the essential elements of the theory of brown dwarfs and
giant planets, as well as of the new spectroscopic classes L and T. To this
end, we describe their evolution, spectra, atmospheric compositions, chemistry,
physics, and nuclear phases and explain the basic systematics of
substellar-mass objects across three orders of magnitude in both mass and age
and a factor of 30 in effective temperature. Moreover, we discuss the
distinctive features of those extrasolar giant planets that are irradiated by a
central primary, in particular their reflection spectra, albedos, and transits.
Aspects of the latest theory of Jupiter and Saturn are also presented.
Throughout, we highlight the effects of condensates, clouds, molecular
abundances, and molecular/atomic opacities in brown dwarf and giant planet
atmospheres and summarize the resulting spectral diagnostics. Where possible,
the theory is put in its current observational context.Comment: 67 pages (including 36 figures), RMP RevTeX LaTeX, accepted for
publication in the Reviews of Modern Physics. 30 figures are color. Most of
the figures are in GIF format to reduce the overall size. The full version
with figures can also be found at:
http://jupiter.as.arizona.edu/~burrows/papers/rm
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