Southern Annular Mode response to volcanic eruptions: implications for ice core proxies

Large tropical volcanic eruptions have been observed to have a significant influence on the large-scale circulation patterns of the Northern Hemisphere, through mechanisms related to the radiative effects of the sulfate aerosols resulting from the volcanic injection of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. While no such volcanically induced anomalies in Southern Hemisphere circulation have yet been observed, we find that in general circulation model simulations, eruptions with sulfur dioxide injections larger than that of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption do result in significant circulation changes in the SH, specifically an enhanced positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). We explore the mechanisms for such a SAM response, as well as the corresponding changes in SH temperature, sea ice and precipitation. We also explore how the anomalously strong zonal winds characteristic of the positive SAM regime affect the rate of sulfate deposition to the Antarctic ice-sheet. We suggest that the use of ice-core sulfate records as a proxy for past volcanic activity may benefit from including knowledge of, or better assumptions regarding the changes in large scale atmospheric circulation after large tropical eruptions

Climatological features of stratospheric streamers in the FUB-CMAM with increased horizontal resolution

International audienceThe purpose of this study is to investigate horizontal transport processes in the winter stratosphere using data with a resolution relevant for chemistry and climate modeling. For this reason the Freie Universität Berlin Climate Middle Atmosphere Model (FUB-CMAM) with its model top at 83 km altitude, increased horizontal resolution T42 and the semi-Lagrangian transport scheme for advecting passive tracers is used. A new approach of this paper is the classification of specific transport phenomena within the stratosphere into tropical-subtropical streamers (e.g. Offermann et al., 1999) and polar vortex extrusions hereafter called polar vortex streamers. To investigate the role played by these large-scale structures on the inter-annual and seasonal variability of transport processes in northern mid-latitudes, the global occurrence of such streamers was calculated based on a 10-year model climatology, concentrating on the existence of the Arctic polar vortex. For the identification and counting of streamers, the new method of zonal anomaly was chosen. The analysis of the months October-May yielded a maximum occurrence of tropical-subtropical streamers during Arctic winter and spring in the middle and upper stratosphere. Synoptic maps revealed highest intensities in the subtropics over East Asia with a secondary maximum over the Atlantic in the northern hemisphere. Furthermore, tropical-subtropical streamers exhibited a higher occurrence than polar vortex streamers, indicating that the subtropical barrier is more permeable than the polar vortex barrier (edge) in the model, which is in good correspondence with observations (e.g. Plumb, 2002; Neu et al., 2003). Interesting for the total ozone decrease in mid-latitudes is the consideration of the lower stratosphere for tropical-subtropical streamers and the stratosphere above ~20 km altitude for polar vortex streamers, where strongest ozone depletion is observed at polar latitudes (WMO, 2003). In the lower stratosphere the FUB-CMAM simulated a climatological maximum of 10% occurrence of tropical-subtropical streamers over East-Asia/West Pacific and the Atlantic during early- and mid-winter. The results of this paper demonstrate that stratospheric streamers e.g. large-scale, tongue-like structures transporting tropical-subtropical and polar vortex air masses into mid-latitudes occur frequently during Arctic winter. They can therefore play a significant role on the strength and variability of the observed total ozone decrease at mid-latitudes and should not be neglected in future climate change studies

Revisiting the Agung 1963 volcanic forcing: Impact of one or two eruptions

In 1963 a series of eruptions of Mt. Agung, Indonesia, resulted in the third largest eruption of the 20th century and claimed about 1900 lives. Two eruptions of this series injected SO2 into the stratosphere, which can create a long-lasting stratospheric sulfate layer. The estimated mass flux of the first eruption was about twice as large as the mass flux of the second eruption. We followed the estimated emission profiles and assumed for the first eruption on 17 March an injection rate of 4.7 Tg SO2 and 2.3 Tg SO2 for the second eruption on 16 May. The injected sulfur forms a sulfate layer in the stratosphere. The evolution of sulfur is nonlinear and depends on the injection rate and aerosol background conditions. We performed ensembles of two model experiments, one with a single eruption and a second one with two eruptions. The two smaller eruptions result in a lower sulfur burden, smaller aerosol particles, and 0.1 to 0.3 Wm−2 (10 %–20 %) lower radiative forcing in monthly mean global average compared to the individual eruption experiment. The differences are the consequence of slightly stronger meridional transport due to different seasons of the eruptions, lower injection height of the second eruption, and the resulting different aerosol evolution. Overall, the evolution of the volcanic clouds is different in case of two eruptions than with a single eruption only. The differences between the two experiments are significant. We conclude that there is no justification to use one eruption only and both climatic eruptions should be taken into account in future emission datasets

More Benefits of Semileptonic Rare B Decays at Low Recoil: CP Violation

We present a systematic analysis of the angular distribution of Bbar -> Kbar^\ast (-> Kbar pi) l^+ l^- decays with l = e, mu in the low recoil region (i.e. at high dilepton invariant masses of the order of the mass of the b-quark) to account model-independently for CP violation beyond the Standard Model, working to next-to-leading order QCD. From the employed heavy quark effective theory framework we identify the key CP observables with reduced hadronic uncertainties. Since some of the CP asymmetries are CP-odd they can be measured without B-flavour tagging. This is particularly beneficial for Bbar_s,B_s -> phi(-> K^+ K^-) l^+ l^- decays, which are not self-tagging, and we work out the corresponding time-integrated CP asymmetries. Presently available experimental constraints allow the proposed CP asymmetries to be sizeable, up to values of the order ~ 0.2, while the corresponding Standard Model values receive a strong parametric suppression at the level of O(10^-4). Furthermore, we work out the allowed ranges of the short-distance (Wilson) coefficients C_9,C_10 in the presence of CP violation beyond the Standard Model but no further Dirac structures. We find the Bbar_s -> mu^+ mu^- branching ratio to be below 9*10^-9 (at 95% CL). Possibilities to check the performance of the theoretical low recoil framework are pointed out.Comment: 18 pages, 3 fig.; 1 reference and comment on higher order effects added; EOS link fixed. Minor adjustments to Eqs 4.1-4.3 to match the (lower) q^2-cut as given in paper. Main results and conclusions unchanged; v3+v4: treatment of exp. uncert. in likelihood-function in EOS fixed and constraints from scan on C9,C10 updated (Fig 2,3 and Eqs 3.2,3.3). Main results and conclusions absolutely unchange

Electronic structure of the c(4 x 2) reconstructed Ge(001) surface

We investigate the electronic structure of the c(4 x 2) reconstructed Ge(001) surface using band structure calculations based on density functional theory and the generalized gradient approximation. In particular, we take into account the details of surface reconstruction by means of well relaxed crystal structures. The surface electronic states are identified and the local density of states is compared to recent data from scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We obtain almost perfect agreement between theory and experiment for both the occupied and unoccupied states, which allows us to clarify the interpretation of the experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Chem. Phys. Let

Local Haemodynamics and Shear Stress in Cuffed and Straight PTFE-venous Anastomoses: An in-vitro Comparison using Particle Image Velocimetry

AbstractObjectives: To use particle image velocimetry (PIV) to study the haemodynamics and shear stress associated with cuffed and straight PTFE-venous anastomoses.Methods: Silastic models of a straight and cuffed (Venaflo™) PTFE-venous anastomoses were attached to a pulsatile flow ‘Berlin Heart’ circuit filled with glycerine/water and hollow glass tracer spheres. Instantaneous velocity fields were obtained PIV and shear rates and patterns calculated from frame-by-frame analysis.Results: A high velocity jet struck the anastomotic ‘floor’ and was deflected toward the venous outflow. Shear stresses near the floor were significantly higher, in the straight anastomosis. Sites of high shear stress correlated well with the known sites of intimal hyperplasia.Conclusions: A cuffed anastomosis type may be favourable in terms of local haemodynamics so enhancing the long-term patency of PTFE-venous grafts

Buckling and crush resistance of high-density TRIP-steel and TRIP-matrix composite honeycombs to out-of-plane compressive load

AbstractThe mechanical and structural responses of high-density TRIP steel and TRIP-steel/zirconia composite honeycomb structures were studied under uniaxial compression in the out-of-plane loading direction over a wide range of strain rates. Their mechanical response, buckling, and failure mechanisms differ considerably from those of conventional thin-walled, low-density cellular structures. Following the linear-elastic regime and the yield limit of the bulk material, the high-density square honeycombs exhibited a uniform increase in compression stress over an extended range of (stable) plastic deformation. This plastic pre-buckling stage with axial crushing of cell walls correlates with the uniaxial compressive response of the bulk specimens tested. The dominating material effects were the pronounced strain hardening of the austenitic steel matrix accompanied by a strain-induced α’-martensite nucleation (TRIP effect) and the strengthening effect due to the zirconia particle reinforcement. The onset of critical plastic bifurcation was initiated at high compressive loads governed by local or global cell wall deflections. After exceeding the compressive peak stress (maximum loading limit), the honeycombs underwent either a continuous post-buckling mode with a folding collapse (lower relative density) or a symmetric extensional collapse mode of the entire frame (high relative density). The densification strain and the post-buckling or plateau stress were determined by the energy efficiency method. Apart from relative density, the crush resistance and deformability of the honeycombs were highly influenced by the microstructure and damage evolution in the cell walls as well as the bulk material’s strain-rate sensitivity. A significant increase in strain rate against quasi-static loading resulted in a measured enhancement of deformation temperature associated with material softening. As a consequence, the compressive peak stress and the plastic failure strain at the beginning of post-buckling showed an anomaly with respect to strain rate indicated by minimum values under medium loading-rate conditions. The development of the temperature gradient in the stable pre-buckling stage could be predicted well by a known constitutive model for quasi-adiabatic heating

Geometric system analysis of ILMD-based LID measurement systems using Monte-Carlo simulation

Imaging Luminance Measuring Device (ILMD) based luminous intensity distribution measurement systems are an established method for measuring the luminous intensity distribution (LID) of light sources in the far field. The advantage of this system is the high-resolution acquisition of a large angular range with one image. For the uncertainty budget, the mathematical description of the system can be divided into photometric and geometric contributions. In the following, we will present a Monte-Carlo approach to analyse the geometric contributions which are the uncertainty of measurement direction and measurement distance. Therefore, we set up a geometric system description based on kinematic transformations that describes the connection between detector and light source position. To consider all relevant input quantities we simulate the adjustment and measurement process. Finally, an analysis of the geometric input parameters is shown