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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
Sub-structure formation in starless cores
Motivated by recent observational searches of sub-structure in starless
molecular cloud cores, we investigate the evolution of density perturbations on
scales smaller than the Jeans length embedded in contracting isothermal clouds,
adopting the same formalism developed for the expanding Universe and the solar
wind. We find that initially small amplitude, Jeans-stable perturbations
(propagating as sound waves in the absence of a magnetic field), are amplified
adiabatically during the contraction, approximately conserving the wave action
density, until they either become nonlinear and steepen into shocks at a time
, or become gravitationally unstable when the Jeans length
decreases below the scale of the perturbations at a time . We
evaluate analytically the time at which the perturbations enter
the non-linear stage using a Burgers' equation approach, and we verify
numerically that this time marks the beginning of the phase of rapid
dissipation of the kinetic energy of the perturbations. We then show that for
typical values of the rms Mach number in molecular cloud cores, is
smaller than , and therefore density perturbations likely dissipate
before becoming gravitational unstable. Solenoidal modes grow at a faster rate
than compressible modes, and may eventually promote fragmentation through the
formation of vortical structures.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Fast reconnection in relativistic plasmas: the magnetohydrodynamics tearing instability revisited
Fast reconnection operating in magnetically dominated plasmas is often
invoked in models for magnetar giant flares, for magnetic dissipation in pulsar
winds, or to explain the gamma-ray flares observed in the Crab nebula, hence
its investigation is of paramount importance in high-energy astrophysics. Here
we study, by means of two dimensional numerical simulations, the linear phase
and the subsequent nonlinear evolution of the tearing instability within the
framework of relativistic resistive magnetohydrodynamics, as appropriate in
situations where the Alfven velocity approaches the speed of light. It is found
that the linear phase of the instability closely matches the analysis in
classical MHD, where the growth rate scales with the Lundquist number S as
S^-1/2, with the only exception of an enhanced inertial term due to the thermal
and magnetic energy contributions. In addition, when thin current sheets of
inverse aspect ratio scaling as S^-1/3 are considered, the so-called "ideal"
tearing regime is retrieved, with modes growing independently on S and
extremely fast, on only a few light crossing times of the sheet length. The
overall growth of fluctuations is seen to solely depend on the value of the
background Alfven velocity. In the fully nonlinear stage we observe an inverse
cascade towards the fundamental mode, with Petschek-type supersonic jets
propagating at the external Alfven speed from the X-point, and a fast
reconnection rate at the predicted value R~(ln S)^-1.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication (MNRAS
Activation of MHD reconnection on ideal timescales
Magnetic reconnection in laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas is often
invoked to explain explosive energy release and particle acceleration. However,
the timescales involved in classical models within the macroscopic MHD regime
are far too slow to match the observations. Here we revisit the tearing
instability by performing visco-resistive two-dimensional numerical simulations
of the evolution of thin current sheets, for a variety of initial
configurations and of values of the Lunquist number , up to . Results
confirm that when the critical aspect ratio of is reached in the
reconnecting current sheets, the instability proceeds on ideal (Alfv\'enic)
macroscopic timescales, as required to explain observations. Moreover, the same
scaling is seen to apply also to the local, secondary reconnection events
triggered during the nonlinear phase of the tearing instability, thus
accelerating the cascading process to increasingly smaller spatial and temporal
scales. The process appears to be robust, as the predicted scaling is measured
both in inviscid simulations and when using a Prandtl number in the
viscous regime.Comment: Accepted for publication in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusio
Oceanic stochastic parametrizations in a seasonal forecast system
We study the impact of three stochastic parametrizations in the ocean
component of a coupled model, on forecast reliability over seasonal timescales.
The relative impacts of these schemes upon the ocean mean state and ensemble
spread are analyzed. The oceanic variability induced by the atmospheric forcing
of the coupled system is, in most regions, the major source of ensemble spread.
The largest impact on spread and bias came from the Stochastically Perturbed
Parametrization Tendency (SPPT) scheme - which has proven particularly
effective in the atmosphere. The key regions affected are eddy-active regions,
namely the western boundary currents and the Southern Ocean. However, unlike
its impact in the atmosphere, SPPT in the ocean did not result in a significant
decrease in forecast error. Whilst there are good grounds for implementing
stochastic schemes in ocean models, our results suggest that they will have to
be more sophisticated. Some suggestions for next-generation stochastic schemes
are made.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure
Oceanic stochastic parametrizations in a seasonal forecast system
We study the impact of three stochastic parametrizations in the ocean
component of a coupled model, on forecast reliability over seasonal timescales.
The relative impacts of these schemes upon the ocean mean state and ensemble
spread are analyzed. The oceanic variability induced by the atmospheric forcing
of the coupled system is, in most regions, the major source of ensemble spread.
The largest impact on spread and bias came from the Stochastically Perturbed
Parametrization Tendency (SPPT) scheme - which has proven particularly
effective in the atmosphere. The key regions affected are eddy-active regions,
namely the western boundary currents and the Southern Ocean. However, unlike
its impact in the atmosphere, SPPT in the ocean did not result in a significant
decrease in forecast error. Whilst there are good grounds for implementing
stochastic schemes in ocean models, our results suggest that they will have to
be more sophisticated. Some suggestions for next-generation stochastic schemes
are made.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure
On the importance of background subtraction in the analysis of coronal loops observed with TRACE
In the framework of TRACE coronal observations, we compare the analysis and
diagnostics of a loop after subtracting the background with two different and
independent methods. The dataset includes sequences of images in the 171 A, 195
A filter bands of TRACE. One background subtraction method consists in taking
as background values those obtained from interpolation between concentric
strips around the analyzed loop. The other method is a pixel-to-pixel
subtraction of the final image when the loop had completely faded out, already
used by Reale & Ciaravella 2006. We compare the emission distributions along
the loop obtained with the two methods and find that they are considerably
different. We find differences as well in the related derive filter ratio and
temperature profiles. In particular, the pixel-to-pixel subtraction leads to
coherent diagnostics of a cooling loop. With the other subtraction the
diagnostics are much less clear. The background subtraction is a delicate issue
in the analysis of a loop. The pixel-to-pixel subtraction appears to be more
reliable, but its application is not always possible. Subtraction from
interpolation between surrounding regions can produce higher systematic errors,
because of intersecting structures and of the large amount of subtracted
emission in TRACE observations.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Coronal Diagnostics from Narrowband Images around 30.4 nm
Images taken in the band centered at 30.4 nm are routinely used to map the
radiance of the He II Ly alpha line on the solar disk. That line is one of the
strongest, if not the strongest, line in the EUV observed in the solar
spectrum, and one of the few lines in that wavelength range providing
information on the upper chromosphere or lower transition region. However, when
observing the off-limb corona the contribution from the nearby Si XI 30.3 nm
line can become significant. In this work we aim at estimating the relative
contribution of those two lines in the solar corona around the minimum of solar
activity. We combine measurements from CDS taken in August 2008 with
temperature and density profiles from semiempirical models of the corona to
compute the radiances of the two lines, and of other representative coronal
lines (e.g., Mg X 62.5 nm, Si XII 52.1 nm). Considering both diagnosed
quantities from line ratios (temperatures and densities) and line radiances in
absolute units, we obtain a good overall match between observations and models.
We find that the Si XI line dominates the He II line from just above the limb
up to ~2 R_Sun in streamers, while its contribution to narrowband imaging in
the 30.4 nm band is expected to become smaller, even negligible in the corona
beyond ~2 - 3 R_Sun, the precise value being strongly dependent on the coronal
temperature profile.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures; to be published in: Solar Physic
Fellatio among male sanctuary-living chimpanzees during a period of social tension
Same-sex sexual behaviour has been documented across the animal kingdom, and is thought to reflect and enhance dyadic cooperation and tolerance. For instance, same-sex fellatio — the reception of a partner’s penis into another’s mouth — has been reported in several mammalian species other than humans. Although same-sex sexual behaviour is observed in our close relatives, the chimpanzees, fellatio appears to be very rare — as yet there are no published reports clearly documenting its occurrence. At Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, we observed an instance of fellatio occurring during a post-conflict period between two adult male chimpanzees (born and mother-reared at the sanctuary) where one of the males was the victim. We discuss this event with respect to the putative functions of homosexual behaviour in great apes. Given its rarity in chimpanzees, this fellatio between adult males also highlights the apparent behavioural flexibility present in our close relatives
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