Surface constraints on the depth of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: Southern Ocean versus North Atlantic

Paleoclimate proxy evidence suggests that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) was about 1000 m shallower at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to the present. Yet it remains unresolved what caused this glacial shoaling of the AMOC, and many climate models instead simulate a deeper AMOC under LGM forcing. While some studies suggest that Southern Ocean surface buoyancy forcing controls the AMOC depth, others have suggested alternatively that North Atlantic surface forcing or interior diabatic mixing plays the dominant role. To investigate the key processes that set the AMOC depth, here we carry out a number of MITgcm ocean-only simulations with surface forcing fields specified from the simulation results of three coupled climate models that span much of the range of glacial AMOC depth changes in phase 3 of the Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project (PMIP3). We find that the MITgcm simulations successfully reproduce the changes in AMOC depth between glacial and modern conditions simulated in these three PMIP3 models. By varying the restoring time scale in the surface forcing, we show that the AMOC depth is more strongly constrained by the surface density field than the surface buoyancy flux field. Based on these results, we propose a mechanism by which the surface density fields in the high latitudes of both hemispheres are connected to the AMOC depth. We illustrate the mechanism using MITgcm simulations with idealized surface forcing perturbations as well as an idealized conceptual geometric model. These results suggest that the AMOC depth is largely determined by the surface density fields in both the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean

Very-large-scale motions in rough-bed open-channel flow

Acknowledgements The study has been supported by two EPSRC/UK grants, ‘High-resolution numerical and experimental studies of turbulence-induced sediment erosion and near-bed transport’ (EP/G056404/1) and ‘Bed friction in rough-bed free-surface flows: a theoretical framework, roughness regimes, and quantification’ (EP/K041169/1). Discussions with I. Marusic and comments of three anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Black hole pair creation and the stability of flat space

We extend the Gross-Perry-Yaffe approach of hot flat space instability to Minkowski space. This is done by a saddle point approximation of the partition function in a Schwarzschild wormhole background which is coincident with an eternal black hole. The appearance of an instability in the whole manifold is here interpreted as a black hole pair creation.Comment: 11 pages,RevTeX4, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

A Generalised Sidelobe Canceller Architecture Based on Oversampled Subband Decompositions

Adaptive broadband beamforming can be performed in oversampled subband signals, whereby an independent beamformer is operated in each frequency band. This has been shown to result in a considerably reduced computational complexity. In this paper, we primarily investigate the convergence behaviour of the generalised sidelobe canceller (GSC) based on normalised least mean squares algorithm (NLMS) when operated in subbands. The minimum mean squared error can be limited, amongst other factors, by the aliasing present in the subbands. With regard to convergence speed, there is strong indication that the subband-GSC converges faster than a fullband counterpart of similar modelling capabilities. Simulations are presented

Local-time asymmetries in the Venus thermosphere

Our current understanding of the global structure and dynamics of the Venus thermosphere is embodied in models such as the Venus Thermospheric General Circulation Model (VTGCM) and empirical composition models such as VIRA and VTS3. We have completed an analysis of ultraviolet images of Venus at 130 nm acquired by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (PVOUVS). We have examined 97 images spanning the 10-year period between 1980 and 1990, and have developed a technique for global radiative transfer modeling with which we create synthetic models of each image analyzed. We have developed a hypothesis for understanding the persistent local-time asymmetry observed as a signature of vertically propagating internal gravity waves interacting with the thermospheric SS-AS circulation. This hypothesis is presented

Results of the Mariner 6 and 7 Mars occultation experiments

Final profiles of temperature, pressure, and electron density on Mars were obtained for the Mariner 6 and 7 entry and exit cases, and results are presented for both the lower atmosphere and ionosphere. The results of an analysis of the systematic and formal errors introduced at each stage of the data-reduction process are also included. At all four occulation points, the lapse rate of temperature was subdadiabatic up to altitudes in excess of 20 km. A pronounced temperature inversion was present above the surface at the Mariner 6 exit point. All four profiles exhibit a sharp, superadiabatic drop in temperature at high altitudes, with temperatures falling below the frost point of CO2. These results give a strong indication of frozen CO2 in the middle atmosphere of Mars

The XMM-Newton spectral-fit database

The XMM-Newton spectral-fit database is an ongoing ESA funded project aimed to construct a catalogue of spectral-fitting results for all the sources within the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue for which spectral data products have been pipeline-extracted (~ 120,000 X-ray source detections). The fundamental goal of this project is to provide the astronomical community with a tool to construct large and representative samples of X-ray sources by allowing source selection according to spectral properties.Comment: Conference proceedings of IAU Symposium 304: Multiwavelength AGN surveys and studie

Effects of weak anchoring on C1 and C2 chevron structures

We present a theoretical study of the effect of weak anchoring on the transition between C1 and C2 chevron structures in smectic C liquid crystals. We employ a continuum theory which allows for variable cone, azimuthal and layer tilt angles. Equilibrium profiles for the director cone and azimuthal angles in the C1 and C2 states are calculated from the standard Euler-Lagrange minimisation of the total energy of the system. By comparing the total energies of the C1 and C2 states we can determine the globally stable chevron profile and calculate the critical temperature for the C1-C2 transition, which depends on anchoring strength and pretilt angle variations

Assessment of the 2,4 km run as a predictor of aerobic capacity

CITATION: Burger, S.C., Bertram, S.R. & Stewart, R.I. 1990. Assessment of the 2,4 km run as a predictor of aerobic capacity. S Afr Med J, 78(9):327-329.The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the 2,4 km run time test is routinely used in military training programmes as an indicator of aerobic capacity and its possible improvement, an atemtp was made to: (i) establish a regression equation of VO2(max) v. 2,4 km run time in a group of 20 young military volunteers; and (ii) determine whether this equation could be used to predict VO2(max) reliably from the 2,4 km time obtained from another group. Before and after training, VO2(max) was measured in all subjects using a treadmill test, and 2,4 km run time was determined in the field. Linear regression equations using the 2,4 km run time as the independent variable accounted for 76-92% of the variance in VO2(max), while the standard error of the estimate varied from 2,24-2,91 ml/kg/min. In the second test group, the directly measured VO2(max) was 59,89 ± 0,99 ml/kg/min, while the mean values estimated from the regression equation of the first group was 59,61 ± 1,16 ml/kg/min (P< 0.001). It was concluded that, in the population studied, the 2,4 km run time in the field reliably predicts VO2(max) measured during treadmill exercise in the laboratory.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaarPublisher’s versio

Volovik effect in a highly anisotropic multiband superconductor: experiment and theory

We present measurements of the specific heat coefficient \gamma(= C/T) in the low temperature limit as a function of an applied magnetic field for the Fe-based superconductor BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.7}$P$_{0.3}$)$_2$. We find both a linear regime at higher fields and a limiting square root $H$ behavior at very low fields. The crossover from a Volovik-like $\sqrt{H}$ to a linear field dependence can be understood from a multiband calculation in the quasiclassical approximation assuming gaps with different momentum dependence on the hole- and electron-like Fermi surface sheets.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, submitted to Phys. Rev.