Episode of unusual high solar ultraviolet radiation over central Europe due to dynamical reduced total ozone in May 2005

In late May 2005 unusual high levels of solar ultraviolet radiation were observed over central Europe. In Northern Germany the measured irradiance of erythemally effective radiation exceeded the climatological mean by more than about 20%. An extreme low ozone event for the season coincided with high solar elevation angles and high pressure induced clear sky conditions leading to the highest value of erythemal UV-radiation ever observed over this location in May since 1994. This hereafter called "ozone mini-hole" was caused by an elevation of tropopause height accompanied with a poleward advection of ozone-poor air from the tropics. The resultant increase in UV-radiation is of particular significance for human health. Dynamically induced low ozone episodes that happen in late spring can considerably enhance the solar UV-radiation in mid latitudes and therefore contribute to the UV-burden of people living in these regions

The role of ice particle shapes and size distributions in the single scattering properties of cirrus clouds

The roles of ice particle size distributions (SDs) and particle shapes in cirrus cloud solar radiative transfer are investigated by analyzing SDs obtained from optical array probe measurements (particle sizes larger than 20–40 μm) during intensive field observations of the International Cirrus Experiment, the European Cloud and Radiation Experiment, the First ISCCP Regional Experiment, and the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment. It is found that the cloud volume extinction coefficient is more strongly correlated with the total number density than with the effective particle size. Distribution-averaged mean single scattering properties are calculated for hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, and polycrystals at a nonabsorbing (0.5 μm), moderately absorbing (1.6 μm), and strongly absorbing (3.0 μm) wavelength. At 0.5 μm (1.6 μm) (3.0 μm), the spread in the resulting mean asymmetry parameters due to different SDs is smaller than (comparable to) (smaller than) the difference caused by applying different particle shapes to these distributions. From a broadband solar radiative transfer point of view it appears more important to use the correct particle shapes than to average over the correct size distributions

Linear-scaling density-functional simulations of charged point defects in Al2O3 using hierarchical sparse matrix algebra

We present calculations of formation energies of defects in an ionic solid (Al(2)O(3)) extrapolated to the dilute limit, corresponding to a simulation cell of infinite size. The large-scale calculations required for this extrapolation are enabled by developments in the approach to parallel sparse matrix algebra operations, which are central to linear-scaling density-functional theory calculations. The computational cost of manipulating sparse matrices, whose sizes are determined by the large number of basis functions present, is greatly improved with this new approach. We present details of the sparse algebra scheme implemented in the ONETEP code using hierarchical sparsity patterns, and demonstrate its use in calculations on a wide range of systems, involving thousands of atoms on hundreds to thousands of parallel processes

Optical precursors in transparent media

We theoretically study the linear propagation of a stepwise pulse through a dilute dispersive medium when the frequency of the optical carrier coincides with the center of a natural or electromagnetically induced transparency window of the medium (slow-light systems). We obtain fully analytical expressions of the entirety of the step response and show that, for parameters representative of real experiments, Sommerfeld-Brillouin precursors, main field and second precursors "postcursors" can be distinctly observed, all with amplitudes comparable to that of the incident step. This behavior strongly contrasts with that of the systems generally considered up to now

CADEX and beyond: Installation of a new PollyXT site in Dushanbe

During the 18-month Central Asian Dust Experiment we conducted continuous lidar measurements at the Physical Technical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan in Dushanbe between 2015 and 2016. Mineral dust plumes from various source regions have been observed and characterized in terms of their occurrence, and their optical and microphysical properties with the Raman lidar PollyXT. Currently a new container-based lidar system is constructed which will be installed for continuous long-term measurements in Dushanbe. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences

Observation of coherent transients in ultrashort chirped excitation of an undamped two-level system

The effects of Coherent excitation of a two level system with a linearly chirped pulse are studied theoretically and experimentally (in Rb (5s - 5p)) in the low field regime. The Coherent Transients are measured directly on the excited state population on an ultrashort time scale. A sharp step corresponds to the passage through resonance. It is followed by oscillations resulting from interferences between off-resonant and resonant contributions. We finally show the equivalence between this experiment and Fresnel diffraction by a sharp edge.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PR

Shock compaction heating and collisional processes in the production of type 3 ordinary chondrites: Lessons from the (nearly) unique L3 chondrite melt breccia Northwest Africa 8709*

Northwest Africa (NWA) 8709 is a rare example of a type 3 ordinary chondrite melt breccia and provides critical information for the shock compaction histories of chondrites. An L3 protolith for NWA 8709 is inferred on the basis of oxygen isotope composition, elemental composition, diverse mineral chemistry, and overall texture. NWA 8709 is among the most strongly shocked type 3 chondrites known, and experienced complete melting of the matrix and partial melting of chondrules. Unmelted phases underwent FeO reduction and partial homogenization, with reduction possibly occurring by reaction of olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene with an S‐bearing gas that was produced by vaporization. Chondrules and metal grains became foliated by uniaxial compaction, and during compression, chondrules and fragments became attached to form larger clumps. This process, and possibly also melt incorporation into chondrules to cause “inflation,” may have contributed to anomalously large chondrule sizes in NWA 8709. The melt breccia character is attributed to strong shock affecting a porous precursor. Data‐model comparisons suggest that a precursor with 23% porosity that was impacted by a 3 km/s projectile could have produced the meteorite. The rarity of other type 3 ordinary chondrite melt breccias implies that the immediate precursors to such chondrites were lower in porosity than the NWA 8709 precursor, or experienced weaker shocks. Altogether, the data imply a predominantly “quiet” dynamical environment to form most type 3 ordinary chondrites, with compaction occurring in a series of relatively weak shock events

Effect of wind speed on aerosol optical depth over remote oceans, based on data from the Maritime Aerosol Network

The Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN) has been collecting data over the oceans since November 2006. The MAN archive provides a valuable resource for aerosol studies in maritime environments. In the current paper we investigate correlations between ship-borne aerosol optical depth (AOD) and near-surface wind speed, either measured (onboard or from satellite) or modeled (NCEP). According to our analysis, wind speed influences columnar aerosol optical depth, although the slope of the linear regression between AOD and wind speed is not steep (~0.004–0.005), even for strong winds over 10 m s<sup>−1</sup>. The relationships show significant scatter (correlation coefficients typically in the range 0.3–0.5); the majority of this scatter can be explained by the uncertainty on the input data. The various wind speed sources considered yield similar patterns. Results are in good agreement with the majority of previously published relationships between surface wind speed and ship-based or satellite-based AOD measurements. The basic relationships are similar for all the wind speed sources considered; however, the gradient of the relationship varies by around a factor of two depending on the wind data used