349 research outputs found
The legacy of stockless organic conversion strategies
Huxham et al. (2005) reported the impacts of seven conversion strategies on the first organic crop (winter wheat). This paper investigates the effect of the conversion strategies on the second (winter beans) and third (winter oats) organic crops, thereby extending the analysis throughout the fi rst complete rotation. Conversion strategy had a significant impact on organic bean yield, which ranged from 2.84 to 3.62 t ha-1 and organic oat yield, which ranged from 3.24 to 4.17 t ha-1. In the organic bean crop, weed abundance prior to harvest, along with soil texture, accounted for 70% of yield variation. For the oats, soil mineral nitrogen in November together with weed abundance in April, accounted for 72% of the variation in yield. Annual average gross margins, calculated over the two year conversion period and the first three organic crops, ranged from £274 to £459 ha-1
Combined Multipoint Remote and In Situ Observations of the Asymmetric Evolution of a Fast Solar Coronal Mass Ejection
We present an analysis of the fast coronal mass ejection (CME) of 2012 March
7, which was imaged by both STEREO spacecraft and observed in situ by
MESSENGER, Venus Express, Wind and Mars Express. Based on detected arrivals at
four different positions in interplanetary space, it was possible to strongly
constrain the kinematics and the shape of the ejection. Using the white-light
heliospheric imagery from STEREO-A and B, we derived two different kinematical
profiles for the CME by applying the novel constrained self-similar expansion
method. In addition, we used a drag-based model to investigate the influence of
the ambient solar wind on the CME's propagation. We found that two preceding
CMEs heading in different directions disturbed the overall shape of the CME and
influenced its propagation behavior. While the Venus-directed segment underwent
a gradual deceleration (from ~2700 km/s at 15 R_sun to ~1500 km/s at 154
R_sun), the Earth-directed part showed an abrupt retardation below 35 R_sun
(from ~1700 to ~900 km/s). After that, it was propagating with a quasi-constant
speed in the wake of a preceding event. Our results highlight the importance of
studies concerning the unequal evolution of CMEs. Forecasting can only be
improved if conditions in the solar wind are properly taken into account and if
attention is also paid to large events preceding the one being studied
Thermodynamic properties of sodium chloride
Measured values of the molar heat capacity of sodium chloride, depending on the temperature (293-673 K). According to the experimental curves Cp (T) by numerical integration to calculate the changes of thermodynamic functions: enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs energy
Constraining the Kinematics of Coronal Mass Ejections in the Inner Heliosphere with In-Situ Signatures
We present a new approach to combine remote observations and in situ data by
STEREO/HI and Wind, respectively, to derive the kinematics and propagation
directions of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). We used two
methods, Fixed-Phi and Harmonic Mean, to convert ICME elongations into
distance, and constrained the ICME direction such that the ICME distance-time
and velocity-time profiles are most consistent with in situ measurements of the
arrival time and velocity. The derived velocity-time functions from the Sun to
1 AU for the three events under study (1-6 June 2008, 13-18 February 2009, 3-5
April 2010) do not show strong differences for the two extreme geometrical
assumptions of a wide ICME with a circular front (Harmonic Mean) or an ICME of
small spatial extent in the ecliptic (Fixed-Phi). Due to the geometrical
assumptions, Harmonic Mean delivers the propagation direction further away from
the observing spacecraft with a mean difference of ~25 degree
Connecting speeds, directions and arrival times of 22 coronal mass ejections from the Sun to 1 AU
Forecasting the in situ properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from
remote images is expected to strongly enhance predictions of space weather, and
is of general interest for studying the interaction of CMEs with planetary
environments. We study the feasibility of using a single heliospheric imager
(HI) instrument, imaging the solar wind density from the Sun to 1 AU, for
connecting remote images to in situ observations of CMEs. We compare the
predictions of speed and arrival time for 22 CMEs (in 2008-2012) to the
corresponding interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) parameters at in situ
observatories (STEREO PLASTIC/IMPACT, Wind SWE/MFI). The list consists of
front- and backsided, slow and fast CMEs (up to ). We
track the CMEs to degrees elongation from the Sun with J-maps
constructed using the SATPLOT tool, resulting in prediction lead times of
hours. The geometrical models we use assume different CME
front shapes (Fixed-, Harmonic Mean, Self-Similar Expansion), and
constant CME speed and direction. We find no significant superiority in the
predictive capability of any of the three methods. The absolute difference
between predicted and observed ICME arrival times is hours (
value of 10.9h). Speeds are consistent to within .
Empirical corrections to the predictions enhance their performance for the
arrival times to hours ( value of 7.9h), and for the speeds
to . These results are important for Solar Orbiter
and a space weather mission positioned away from the Sun-Earth line.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
ElEvoHI : A NOVEL CME PREDICTION TOOL FOR HELIOSPHERIC IMAGING COMBINING AN ELLIPTICAL FRONT WITH DRAG-BASED MODEL FITTING
This article has an erratum: DOI 10.3847/0004-637X/831/2/210In this study, we present a new method for forecasting arrival times and speeds of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at any location in the inner heliosphere. This new approach enables the adoption of a highly flexible geometrical shape for the CME front with an adjustable CME angular width and an adjustable radius of curvature of its leading edge, i.e., the assumed geometry is elliptical. Using, as input, Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) heliospheric imager (HI) observations, a new elliptic conversion (ElCon) method is introduced and combined with the use of drag-based model (DBM) fitting to quantify the deceleration or acceleration experienced by CMEs during propagation. The result is then used as input for the Ellipse Evolution Model (ElEvo). Together, ElCon, DBM fitting, and ElEvo form the novel ElEvoHI forecasting utility. To demonstrate the applicability of ElEvoHI, we forecast the arrival times and speeds of 21 CMEs remotely observed from STEREO/HI and compare them to in situ arrival times and speeds at 1 AU. Compared to the commonly used STEREO/HI fitting techniques (Fixed-phi, Harmonic Mean, and Self-similar Expansion fitting), ElEvoHI improves the arrival time forecast by about 2 to +/- 6.5 hr and the arrival speed forecast by approximate to 250 to +/- 53 km s(-1), depending on the ellipse aspect ratio assumed. In particular, the remarkable improvement of the arrival speed prediction is potentially beneficial for predicting geomagnetic storm strength at Earth.Peer reviewe
Analysis and Application of an efficient line solver based upon the Symmetrical Coupled Gauss-Seidel Scheme
This paper describes an efficient line solver for the coupled equations. The calculation procedure, called SCGS/LS (Symmetrical Coupled Gauss-Seidel/Line Solver), is based on the SCGS scheme. The technique is applied to the driven cavity problem for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. A Fourier analysis of this technique is carried out. The scheme is simple and easy to programme. The rates of convergence and the computational times are reported for the test case
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Modeling of transformation toughening in brittle materials
Results from modeling of transformation toughening in brittle materials using a discrete micromechanical model are presented. The material is represented as a two-dimensional triangular array of nodes connected by elastic springs. Microstructural effects are included by varying the spring parameters for the bulk, grain boundaries, and transforming particles. Using the width of the damage zone and the effective compliance (after the initial creation of the damage zone) as measures of fracture toughness, we find that there is a strong dependence of toughness on the amount, size, and shape of the transforming particles, with the maximum toughness achieved with the higher amounts of larger particles.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29978/1/0000341.pd
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Microstructural Evolution Based on Fundamental Interfacial Properties
This first CMSN project has been operating since the summer of 1999. The main achievement of the project was to bring together a community of materials scientists, physicists and mathematicians who share a common interest in the properties of interfaces and the impact of those properties on microstructural evolution. Six full workshops were held at Carnegie Mellon (CMU), Northwestern (NWU), Santa Fe, Northeastern University (NEU), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Ames Laboratory, and at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) respectively. Substantial scientific results were obtained through the sustained contact between the members of the project. A recent issue of Interface Science (volume 10, issue 2/3, July 2002) was dedicated to the output of the project. The results include: the development of methods for extracting anisotropic boundary energy and mobility from molecular dynamics simulations of solid/liquid interfaces in nickel; the extraction of anisotropic energies and mobilities in aluminum from similar MD simulations; the application of parallel computation to the calculation of interfacial properties; the development of a method to extract interfacial properties from the fluctuations in interface position through consideration of interfacial stiffness; the use of anisotropic interface properties in studies of abnormal grain growth; the discovery of abnormal grain growth from random distributions of orientation in subgrain networks; the direct comparison at the scale of individual grains between experimentally observed grain growth and simulations, which confirmed the importance of including anisotropic interfacial properties in the simulations; the classification of a rich variety of dendritic morphologies based on slight variations in the anisotropy of the solid-liquid interface; development of phase field methods that permit both solidification and grain growth to be simulated within the same framework
STEREO and Wind observations of a fast ICME flank triggering a prolonged geomagnetic storm on 5-7 April 2010
On 5 April 2010 an interplanetary (IP) shock was detected by the Wind
spacecraft ahead of Earth, followed by a fast (average speed 650 km/s) IP
coronal mass ejection (ICME). During the subsequent moderate geomagnetic storm
(minimum Dst = -72 nT, maximum Kp=8-), communication with the Galaxy 15
satellite was lost. We link images from STEREO/SECCHI to the near-Earth in situ
observations and show that the ICME did not decelerate much between Sun and
Earth. The ICME flank was responsible for a long storm growth phase. This type
of glancing collision was for the first time directly observed with the STEREO
Heliospheric Imagers. The magnetic cloud (MC) inside the ICME cannot be modeled
with approaches assuming an invariant direction. These observations confirm the
hypotheses that parts of ICMEs classified as (1) long-duration MCs or (2)
magnetic-cloud-like (MCL) structures can be a consequence of a spacecraft
trajectory through the ICME flank.Comment: Geophysical Research Letters (accepted); 3 Figure
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