Cluster observations of the midaltitude cusp under strong northward interplanetary magnetic field

We report on a multispacecraft cusp observation lasting more than 100 min. We determine the cusp boundary motion and reveal the effect on the cusp size of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) changing from southward to northward. The cusp shrinks at the beginning of the IMF rotation and it reexpands at the rate of 0.40° invariant latitude per hour under stable northward IMF. On the basis of plasma signatures inside the cusp, such as counterstreaming electrons with balanced fluxes, we propose that pulsed dual lobe reconnection operates during the time of interest. SC1 and SC4 observations suggest a long-term regular periodicity of the pulsed dual reconnection, which we estimate to be ~1–5 min. Further, the distances from the spacecraft to the reconnection site are estimated on the basis of observations from three satellites. The distance determined using SC1 and SC4 observations is ~15 RE and that determined from SC3 data is ~8 RE. The large-scale speed of the reconnection site sunward motion is ~16 km s-1. We observe also a fast motion of the reconnection site by SC1, which provides new information about the transitional phase after the IMF rotation. Finally, a statistical study of the dependency of plasma convection inside the cusp on the IMF clock angle is performed. The relationship between the cusp stagnation, the dual lobe reconnection process, and the IMF clock angle is discussed

Cluster observations of structures at quasi-parallel bow shocks

International audienceCollisionless quasi-parallel shocks are thought to be composed of a patchwork of short, large-amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMS) which act to thermalise the plasma, giving rise to a spatially extended and time varying shock transition. With the launch of Cluster, new observations of the three-dimensional shape and size of shock structures are available. In this paper we present SLAMS observations made when the Cluster tetrahedron scale size was ~100km. The SLAMS magnetic field enhancement is typically well correlated between spacecraft on this scale, although small differences are observed. The statistical characteristics of these differences contain information on the typical gradients of magnetic field changes within the SLAM structure which, in the case studied here, occur on scales of 100-150km, comparable with the upstream ion inertial length

Methylation landscape in the genome of higher plants of agronomical interest

In eukaryotic cells the methylation of cytosines in DNA is an essential mechanism which is implied in the dynamic organization of the genome structure, in relation to genes expression. Plant genomes contain a significant proportion and variable according to the species, of sequences which are likely to be methylated during the life of the plant. It is known that the establishment and the maintenance of methylation profiles in both genomic areas and specific sequences constitute a crucial mediator in the modulation of genes expression during development. Recent studies have evidenced the implication of epimutations in the adaptation of plants to their environment particularly in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Recently, the complete mapping of methylation in the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice provided invaluable information on the distribution of methylation within genes in relation to their expression. The impact of changes in the methylation profiles on the characters of agronomic importance has not been intensively studied yet, whereas this question takes a considerable importance in the context of an increasing food demand and foreseen global climate changes. The METHYLANDSCAPE project proposes to isolate genomic DNA sequences on the basis of their degree of methylation and to connect the variation of their methylation profiles with, on the one hand, the expression of the corresponding genes and, on the other hand, with environmental or developmental processes. Thus, it should be possible to identify genes which expression is differentially controlled by methylation during development and/or in situation of stress, and likely to have an influence on the agronomic value of the plant. The METHYLANDSCAPE partners thus propose to bring signification advances in plant genomics on four original species, by integrating DNA methylation mapping and the relationship between epigenome and transcriptome, up to the generation of methylation-sensitive markers linked with characters of agronomic importance. (Texte intégral

La bluetongue, nouvelle maladie des ovins à La Réunion (océan Indien)

La bluetongue ou fièvre catarrhale a été diagnostiquée dans 2 élevages de moutons à l'île de la Réunion. Ce foyer, le premier dans un département français d'outre-mer, est dû au type 2 bien qu'une enquête sérologique menée sur 298 bovins autochtones ait montré que les types 2 et 4 étaient également actifs (respectivement 16, 4 et 16, 7 p. 100 de bovins porteurs d'Ac séroneutralisants vis-à-vis de ces deux types). Les symptômes, l'évolution et les méthodes de diagnostics employés sont décrits. L'étude épidémiologique de la maladie permet de conclure que le foyer réunionnais a pour origine des bovins importés d'Afrique 3 ans auparavan

Flux pile-up and plasma depletion at the high latitude dayside magnetopause during southward interplanetary magnetic field: a cluster event study

An event of strong flux pile-up and plasma depletion at the high latitude magnetopause tailward of the cusp has been analyzed based on observations by the suite of Cluster spacecraft. The multi-satellite analysis facilitates the separation of temporal and spatial features and provides a direct estimate for the strength of the plasma depletion layer for this event. A doubling of the magnetic field strength and a forty percent reduction of the density are found. Our analysis shows that roughly half of the total magnetic field increase occurs within 0.6 RE of the magnetopause and another quarter within a distance of 1.2 RE. In addition, the plasma depletion signatures exhibit temporal variations which we relate to magnetopause dynamics.<br><br> <b>Keywords.</b> Magnetospheric physics (Magnetopause, Cusp and boundary layers; Magnetosheath; Solar windmagnetosphere interactions

Correlation functions of small-scale fluctuations of the interplanetary magnetic field

The Interplanetary Magnetic Field shows complex spatial and temporal variations. Single spacecraft measurements reveal only a one dimensional section of this rich four dimensional phenomenon. Multi-point measurements of the four Cluster spacecraft provide a unique tool to study the spatiotemporal structure of the field. Using Cluster data we determined three dimensional correlation functions of the fluctuations. By means of the correlation function one can describe and measure field variations. Our results can be used to verify theoretical predictions, to understand the formation and nature of solar wind turbulence. We found that the correlation length varies over almost six orders of magnitude. The IMF turbulence shows significant anisotropy with two distinct populations. In certain time intervals the ratio of the three axes of the correlation ellipse is 1/2.2/6 while in the remaining time we found extremely high correlation along one axis. We found favoured directions in the orientation of the correlation ellipsoids.Comment: accepted to Solar Physics on June 14, 2010. 10 pages, 8 figure

Periodic traveling compression regions during quiet geomagnetic conditions and their association with ground Pi2

Recently, Keiling et al. (2006) showed that periodic (~90 s) traveling compression regions (TCRs) during a substorm had properties of Pi2 pulsations, prompting them to call this type of periodic TCRs "lobe Pi2". It was further shown that time-delayed ground Pi2 had the same period as the lobe Pi2 located at 16 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I>, and it was concluded that both were remotely driven by periodic, pulsed reconnection in the magnetotail. In the study reported here, we give further evidence for this association by reporting additional periodic TCR events (lobe Pi2s) at 18 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I> all of which occurred in succession during a geomagnetically very quiet, non-substorm period. Each quiet-time periodic TCR event occurred during an interval of small <I>H</I>-bay-like ground disturbance (<40 nT). Such disturbances have previously been identified as poleward boundary intensifications (PBIs). The small <I>H</I> bays were superposed by Pi2s. These ground Pi2s are compared to the TCRs in the tail lobe (Cluster) and both magnetic pulsations and flow variations at 9 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I> inside the plasma sheet (Geotail). The main results of this study are: (1) Further evidence is given that periodic TCRs in the tail lobe at distances of 18 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I> and ground Pi2 are related phenomena. In particular, it is shown that both had the same periodicity and occurred simultaneously (allowing for propagation time delays) strongly suggesting that both had the same periodic source. Since the TCRs were propagating Earthward, this source was located in the outer magnetosphere beyond 18 <I>R<sub>E</sub></I>. (2) The connection of periodic TCRs and ground Pi2 also exists during very quiet geomagnetic conditions with PBIs present in addition to the previous result (Keiling et al., 2006) which showed this connection during substorms. (3) Combining (1) and (2), we conclude that the frequency of PBI-associated Pi2 is controlled in the outer magnetosphere as opposed to the inner magnetosphere. We propose that this mechanism is pulsed reconnection based on previous results which combined modeled results and observations of substorm-related periodic TCRs and ground Pi2. (4) We show that TCRs with small compression ratios (ΔB/B<1%) can be useful in the study of magnetotail dynamics and we argue that other compressional fluctuations with ΔB/B<1% (without having all of the characteristic signatures of TCRs) seen in the tail lobe could possibly be related to the same mechanism that generates TCR with ΔB/B>1% (which are more commonly studied). (5) Finally, it is noted that both quiet time and substorm-related periodic TCRs had remarkably similar periods in spite of the drastically different geomagnetic conditions prevailing during the events which poses the important question of what causes this periodicity under these different conditions

Optimal reconstruction of magnetopause structures from Cluster data

The Grad-Shafranov (GS) reconstruction technique, a single-spacecraft based data analysis method for recovering approximately two-dimensional (2-D) magnetohydrostatic plasma/field structures in space, is improved to become a multi-spacecraft technique that produces a single field map by ingesting data from all four Cluster spacecraft into the calculation. The plasma pressure, required for the technique, is measured in high time resolution by only two of the spacecraft, C1 and C3, but, with the help of spacecraft potential measurements available from all four spacecraft, the pressure can be estimated at the other spacecraft as well via a relationship, established from C1 and C3 data, between the pressure and the electron density deduced from the potentials. Consequently, four independent field maps, one for each spacecraft, can be reconstructed and then merged into a single map. The resulting map appears more accurate than the individual single-spacecraft based ones, in the sense that agreement between magnetic field variations predicted from the map to occur at each of the four spacecraft and those actually measured is significantly better. Such a composite map does not satisfy the GS equation any more, but is optimal under the constraints that the structures are 2-D and time-independent. Based on the reconstruction results, we show that, even on a scale of a few thousand km, the magnetopause surface is usually not planar, but has significant curvature, often with intriguing meso-scale structures embedded in the current layer, and that the thickness of both the current layer and the boundary layer attached to its earthward side can occasionally be larger than 3000km

Multi-scale magnetic field intermittence in the plasma sheet

This paper demonstrates that intermittent magnetic field fluctuations in the plasma sheet exhibit transitory, localized, and multi-scale features. We propose a multifractal based algorithm, which quantifies intermittence on the basis of the statistical distribution of the 'strength of burstiness', estimated within a sliding window. Interesting multi-scale phenomena observed by the Cluster spacecraft include large scale motion of the current sheet and bursty bulk flow associated turbulence, interpreted as a cross-scale coupling (CSC) process.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure