On the Validation of Satellite-Derived Sea Ice Surface Temperature

The surface temperature of sea ice controls the rate of ice growth and heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere. An algorithm for the satellite retrieval of ice surface temperature has recently been published, but due to the lack of validation data has not been extensively tested. In this paper, data from a recent Arctic field experiment is used in an attempt to validate that algorithm. While the procedure is, in principle, straightforward, we demonstrate that validation is complicated by a variety of factors, including incorrectly assumed atmospheric conditions, undetected clouds in the satellite data, spatial and temporal variability in the surface temperature field, and surface and satellite measurement errors. Comparisons between surface temperatures determined from upwelling broadband longwave radiation, spatial measurements of narrow-band radiation, thermocouples buried just below the snow surface, and narrow-band satellite data show differences of 1 to 13 degrees C. The range in these independent measurements indicates the need for specially designed validation experiments utilizing narrow-band radiometers on aircraft to obtain broad spatial coverage.Key words: ice surface temperature, Arctic climate, sea ice, AVHRRLa température de la surface de la glace de mer contrôle le taux de croissance de la glace et les échanges thermiques entre l'océan et l'atmosphère. Un algorithme d'extraction par satellite de la température de la surface de la glace a récemment été publié, mais n'a pu être mis à l'essai sur une grande échelle, en raison du manque de données de validation. On tente, dans cet article, de valider cet algorithme à l'aide de données provenant d'une expérience de terrain menée récemment dans l'Arctique. Si la procédure est, en principe, simple, on démontre que divers facteurs viennent compliquer cette validation, dont une évaluation incorrecte des conditions atmosphériques, la présence de nuages non détectés dans les données obtenues par satellite, une variabilité spatiale et temporelle dans la température de surface de l'aire expérimentale, et des erreurs dans les mesures prises sur le terrain même et par satellite. Des comparaisons entre les températures de surface déterminées à partir du rayonnement ascendant des ondes longues à large bande, des mesures spatiales du rayonnement à bande étroite, des thermocouples placés juste sous la surface de la neige et des données de satellite dans la bande étroite révèlent des différences allant de 1 à 3 °C. La différence qui existe dans ces mesures prises indépendamment montre bien la nécessité de mettre sur pied des expériences de validation conçues à des fins spécifiques, qui utilisent des radiomètres à bande étroite sur les avions en vue d'obtenir une grande couverture spatiale.Mots clés: température de la surface de la glace, climat de l’Arctique, glace de mer, radiomètre perfectionné à très haute résolutio

Comparison of In Situ and AVHRR-Derived Broadband Albedo over Arctic Sea Ice

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data are used to extract broadband sea ice surface albedos from narrowband channel 1 and 2 top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiances. Corrections for the intervening atmosphere, viewing geometry and sensor spectral response are applied to the satellite data. Atmospheric correction increases TOA albedos by 27 to 32%. After removing the effects of viewing geometry, surface albedo variability between orbits decreases. The satellite-derived surface albedo over snow-covered sea ice corrected for viewing geometry ranged from 0.68 to 0.82. The residual diurnal variability is attributed to uncertainties in the atmospheric and anisotropic corrections of the satellite data. After comparison with coincidental in situ measurements, AVHRR pixel. In order to develop a reliable methodology for using these satellite data to derive sea ice albedo, an improved understanding of both the atmosphere's behavior over the long path lengths common to the Arctic and the anisotropic nature of snow-covered sea ice reflectance is required. Furthermore, any seasonal characteristics of these factors must be addressed.Key words: sea ice, albedo, remote sensing, AVHRR, anisotropyOn utilise des données obtenues par radiomètre perfectionné à très haute résolution pour extraire des albédos à large bande de la surface de la glace à partir de luminances du sommet de l'atmosphère du canal 1 et 2 à bande étroite. On applique aux données par satellite des corrections pour l'atmosphère intermédiaire, l'angle de prise de vue et la réponse spectrale des capteurs. La correction atmosphérique augmente les albédos du sommet de l'atmosphère de 27 à 32 p. cent. Après avoir éliminé l'influence de l'angle de prise de vue, la variabilité de l'albédo de la surface entre les orbites diminue. L'albédo de la surface obtenu par satellite sur la glace de mer couverte de neige après correction pour l'angle de prise de vue allait de 0,68 à 0,82. On attribue la variabilité résiduelle diurne à des incertitudes dans les corrections atmosphérique et anisotrope des données obtenues par satellite. Après comparaison avec des mesures correspondantes effectuées in situ, les albédos obtenus à l'aide du radiomètre perfectionné à très haute résolution et corrigés pour l'atmosphère intermédiaire et l'angle de prise de vue concordaient d'assez près avec les mesures effectuées à la surface même. La grande variabilité dans les mesures de surface reflète la difficulté qu'il y a à mesurer les albédos de surface dans des régions correspondant à celles d'un pixel typique obtenu à l'aide d'un radiomètre perfectionné à très haute résolution. De façon à développer une méthodologie fiable permettant d'utiliser ces données par satellite pour obtenir l'albédo de la glace de mer, on a besoin de mieux comprendre à la fois le comportement de l'atmosphère sur les grandes longueurs de couloir communes à l'Arctique et la nature anisotrope de la réflectance de la glace de mer couverte de neige. Il faut en outre tenir compte de toute caractéristique saisonnière pertinente à ces facteurs.Mots clés: glace de mer, albédo, télédétection, radiomètre perfectionné à très haute résolution, anisotropi

Interference of a Tonks-Girardeau Gas on a Ring

We study the quantum dynamics of a one-dimensional gas of impenetrable bosons on a ring, and investigate the interference that results when an initially trapped gas localized on one side of the ring is released, split via an optical-dipole grating, and recombined on the other side of the ring. Large visibility interference fringes arise when the wavevector of the optical dipole grating is larger than the effective Fermi wavevector of the initial gas.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Breakdown of superfluidity of an atom laser past an obstacle

The 1D flow of a continuous beam of Bose-Einstein condensed atoms in the presence of an obstacle is studied as a function of the beam velocity and of the type of perturbing potential (representing the interaction of the obstacle with the atoms of the beam). We identify the relevant regimes: stationary/time-dependent and superfluid/dissipative; the absence of drag is used as a criterion for superfluidity. There exists a critical velocity below which the flow is superfluid. For attractive obstacles, we show that this critical velocity can reach the value predicted by Landau's approach. For penetrable obstacles, it is shown that superfluidity is recovered at large beam velocity. Finally, enormous differences in drag occur when switching from repulsive to attractive potential.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Mesoscopic scattering in the half-plane: squeezing conductance through a small hole

We model the 2-probe conductance of a quantum point contact (QPC), in linear response. If the QPC is highly non-adiabatic or near to scatterers in the open reservoir regions, then the usual distinction between leads and reservoirs breaks down and a technique based on scattering theory in the full two-dimensional half-plane is more appropriate. Therefore we relate conductance to the transmission cross section for incident plane waves. This is equivalent to the usual Landauer formula using a radial partial-wave basis. We derive the result that an arbitrarily small (tunneling) QPC can reach a p-wave channel conductance of 2e^2/h when coupled to a suitable reflector. If two or more resonances coincide the total conductance can even exceed this. This relates to recent mesoscopic experiments in open geometries. We also discuss reciprocity of conductance, and the possibility of its breakdown in a proposed QPC for atom waves.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX. Revised version (shortened), accepted for publication in PR

Elevated hematocrit enhances platelet accumulation following vascular injury

Red blood cells (RBCs) demonstrate procoagulant properties in vitro, and elevated hematocrit is associated with reduced bleeding and increased thrombosis risk in humans. These observations suggest RBCs contribute to thrombus formation. However, effects of RBCs on thrombosis are difficult to assess because humans and mice with elevated hematocrit typically have coexisting pathologies. Using an experimental model of elevated hematocrit in healthy mice, we measured effects of hematocrit in 2 in vivo clot formation models. We also assessed thrombin generation, platelet-thrombus interactions, and platelet accumulation in thrombi ex vivo, in vitro, and in silico. Compared with controls, mice with elevated hematocrit (RBCHIGH) formed thrombi at a faster rate and had a shortened vessel occlusion time. Thrombi in control and RBCHIGH mice did not differ in size or fibrin content, and there was no difference in levels of circulating thrombin-antithrombin complexes. In vitro, increasing the hematocrit increased thrombin generation in the absence of platelets; however, this effect was reduced in the presence of platelets. In silico, direct numerical simulations of whole blood predicted elevated hematocrit increases the frequency and duration of interactions between platelets and a thrombus.Whenhumanwhole blood was perfused over collagen at arterial shear rates, elevating the hematocrit increased the rate of platelet deposition and thrombus growth. These data suggest RBCs promote arterial thrombosis by enhancing platelet accumulation at the site of vessel injury. Maintaining a normal hematocrit may reduce arterial thrombosis risk in humans

Clinical phenotype and mortality in patients with idiopathic small bowel villous atrophy: a dual-centre international study

Objective Causes of small-bowel villous atrophy (VA) include coeliac disease (CD), its complications and other rare non-coeliac enteropathies. However, forms of VA of unknown aetiology may also exist. We defined them as idiopathic VA (IVA). To retrospectively classify the largest cohort of IVA patients and compare their natural history with CD. Methods Notes of 76 IVA patients attending two tertiary centres between January 2000 and March 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. CD, its complications and all the known causes of VA were excluded in all of them. Persistence of VA during follow-up and lymphoproliferative features were used to retrospectively classify IVA, as follows. Group 1: IVA with spontaneous histological recovery (50 patients). Group 2: persistent IVA without lymphoproliferative features (14 patients). Group 3: persistent IVA with lymphoproliferative features (12 patients). Survival was compared between IVA groups and 1114 coeliac patients. HLA was compared between IVA patients, coeliac patients and appropriate controls. Results Five-year survival was 96% in IVA group 1, 100% in IVA group 2, 27% in IVA group 3 and 97% in CD. On a multivariate analysis hypoalbuminemia (P = 0.002) and age at diagnosis (P = 0.04) predicted mortality in IVA. Group 2 showed association with HLA DQB1*0301 and DQB1*06. Conclusion IVA consists of three groups of enteropathies with distinct clinical phenotypes and prognoses. Mortality in IVA is higher than in CD and mainly due to lymphoproliferative conditions necessitating more aggressive therapies

Investigation of previously implicated genetic variants in chronic tic disorders: a transmission disequilibrium test approach

Genetic studies in Tourette syndrome (TS) are characterized by scattered and poorly replicated findings. We aimed to replicate findings from candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Our cohort included 465 probands with chronic tic disorder (93% TS) and both parents from 412 families (some probands were siblings). We assessed 75 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 465 parent–child trios; 117 additional SNPs in 211 trios; and 4 additional SNPs in 254 trios. We performed SNP and gene-based transmission disequilibrium tests and compared nominally significant SNP results with those from a large independent case–control cohort. After quality control 71 SNPs were available in 371 trios; 112 SNPs in 179 trios; and 3 SNPs in 192 trios. 17 were candidate SNPs implicated in TS and 2 were implicated in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD); 142 were tagging SNPs from eight monoamine neurotransmitter-related genes (including dopamine and serotonin); 10 were top SNPs from TS GWAS; and 13 top SNPs from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, OCD, or ASD GWAS. None of the SNPs or genes reached significance after adjustment for multiple testing. We observed nominal significance for the candidate SNPs rs3744161 (TBCD) and rs4565946 (TPH2) and for five tagging SNPs; none of these showed significance in the independent cohort. Also, SLC1A1 in our gene-based analysis and two TS GWAS SNPs showed nominal significance, rs11603305 (intergenic) and rs621942 (PICALM). We found no convincing support for previously implicated genetic polymorphisms. Targeted re-sequencing should fully appreciate the relevance of candidate genes

State of the climate in 2013

In 2013, the vast majority of the monitored climate variables reported here maintained trends established in recent decades. ENSO was in a neutral state during the entire year, remaining mostly on the cool side of neutral with modest impacts on regional weather patterns around the world. This follows several years dominated by the effects of either La Niña or El Niño events. According to several independent analyses, 2013 was again among the 10 warmest years on record at the global scale, both at the Earths surface and through the troposphere. Some regions in the Southern Hemisphere had record or near-record high temperatures for the year. Australia observed its hottest year on record, while Argentina and New Zealand reported their second and third hottest years, respectively. In Antarctica, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station reported its highest annual temperature since records began in 1957. At the opposite pole, the Arctic observed its seventh warmest year since records began in the early 20th century. At 20-m depth, record high temperatures were measured at some permafrost stations on the North Slope of Alaska and in the Brooks Range. In the Northern Hemisphere extratropics, anomalous meridional atmospheric circulation occurred throughout much of the year, leading to marked regional extremes of both temperature and precipitation. Cold temperature anomalies during winter across Eurasia were followed by warm spring temperature anomalies, which were linked to a new record low Eurasian snow cover extent in May. Minimum sea ice extent in the Arctic was the sixth lowest since satellite observations began in 1979. Including 2013, all seven lowest extents on record have occurred in the past seven years. Antarctica, on the other hand, had above-average sea ice extent throughout 2013, with 116 days of new daily high extent records, including a new daily maximum sea ice area of 19.57 million km2 reached on 1 October. ENSO-neutral conditions in the eastern central Pacific Ocean and a negative Pacific decadal oscillation pattern in the North Pacific had the largest impacts on the global sea surface temperature in 2013. The North Pacific reached a historic high temperature in 2013 and on balance the globally-averaged sea surface temperature was among the 10 highest on record. Overall, the salt content in nearsurface ocean waters increased while in intermediate waters it decreased. Global mean sea level continued to rise during 2013, on pace with a trend of 3.2 mm yr-1 over the past two decades. A portion of this trend (0.5 mm yr-1) has been attributed to natural variability associated with the Pacific decadal oscillation as well as to ongoing contributions from the melting of glaciers and ice sheets and ocean warming. Global tropical cyclone frequency during 2013 was slightly above average with a total of 94 storms, although the North Atlantic Basin had its quietest hurricane season since 1994. In the Western North Pacific Basin, Super Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest tropical cyclone of 2013, had 1-minute sustained winds estimated to be 170 kt (87.5 m s-1) on 7 November, the highest wind speed ever assigned to a tropical cyclone. High storm surge was also associated with Haiyan as it made landfall over the central Philippines, an area where sea level is currently at historic highs, increasing by 200 mm since 1970. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide all continued to increase in 2013. As in previous years, each of these major greenhouse gases once again reached historic high concentrations. In the Arctic, carbon dioxide and methane increased at the same rate as the global increase. These increases are likely due to export from lower latitudes rather than a consequence of increases in Arctic sources, such as thawing permafrost. At Mauna Loa, Hawaii, for the first time since measurements began in 1958, the daily average mixing ratio of carbon dioxide exceeded 400 ppm on 9 May. The state of these variables, along with dozens of others, and the 2013 climate conditions of regions around the world are discussed in further detail in this 24th edition of the State of the Climate series. © 2014, American Meteorological Society. All rights reserved