The impact of the 1783-1784 AD Laki eruption on global aerosol formation processes and cloud condensation nuclei

The 1783–1784 AD Laki flood lava eruption commenced on 8 June 1783 and released 122 Tg of sulphur dioxide gas over the course of 8 months into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere above Iceland. Previous studies have examined the impact of the Laki eruption on sulphate aerosol and climate using general circulation models. Here, we study the impact on aerosol microphysical processes, including the nucleation of new particles and their growth to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) using a comprehensive Global Model of Aerosol Processes (GLOMAP). Total particle concentrations in the free troposphere increase by a factor ~16 over large parts of the Northern Hemisphere in the 3 months following the onset of the eruption. Particle concentrations in the boundary layer increase by a factor 2 to 5 in regions as far away as North America, the Middle East and Asia due to long-range transport of nucleated particles. CCN concentrations (at 0.22% supersaturation) increase by a factor 65 in the upper troposphere with maximum changes in 3-month zonal mean concentrations of ~1400 cm<sup>−3</sup> at high northern latitudes. 3-month zonal mean CCN concentrations in the boundary layer at the latitude of the eruption increase by up to a factor 26, and averaged over the Northern Hemisphere, the eruption caused a factor 4 increase in CCN concentrations at low-level cloud altitude. The simulations show that the Laki eruption would have completely dominated as a source of CCN in the pre-industrial atmosphere. The model also suggests an impact of the eruption in the Southern Hemisphere, where CCN concentrations are increased by up to a factor 1.4 at 20° S. Our model simulations suggest that the impact of an equivalent wintertime eruption on upper tropospheric CCN concentrations is only about one-third of that of a summertime eruption. The simulations show that the microphysical processes leading to the growth of particles to CCN sizes are fundamentally different after an eruption when compared to the unperturbed atmosphere, underlining the importance of using a fully coupled microphysics model when studying long-lasting, high-latitude eruptions

Energy Flow in Acoustic Black Holes

We present the results of an analysis of superradiant energy flow due to scalar fields incident on an acoustic black hole. In addition to providing independent confirmation of the recent results in [5], we determine in detail the profile of energy flow everywhere outside the horizon. We confirm explicitly that in a suitable frame the energy flow is inward at the horizon and outward at infinity, as expected on physical grounds.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, Comments added to discussion of energy flow and introductory section abbreviate

Divergence in Dialogue

Copyright: 2014 Healey et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC; http://www.esrc.ac.uk/) through the DynDial project (Dynamics of Conversational Dialogue, RES-062-23-0962) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC; http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/) through the RISER project (Robust Incremental Semantic Resources for Dialogue, EP/J010383/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Lift-up, Kelvin-Helmholtz and Orr mechanisms in turbulent jets

Three amplification mechanisms present in turbulent jets, namely lift-up, Kelvin–Helmholtz and Orr, are characterized via global resolvent analysis and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) over a range of Mach numbers. The lift-up mechanism was recently identified in turbulent jets via local analysis by Nogueira et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 873, 2019, pp. 211–237) at low Strouhal number ( St ) and non-zero azimuthal wavenumbers ( m ). In these limits, a global SPOD analysis of data from high-fidelity simulations reveals streamwise vortices and streaks similar to those found in turbulent wall-bounded flows. These structures are in qualitative agreement with the global resolvent analysis, which shows that they are a response to upstream forcing of streamwise vorticity near the nozzle exit. Analysis of mode shapes, component-wise amplitudes and sensitivity analysis distinguishes the three mechanisms and the regions of frequency–wavenumber space where each dominates, finding lift-up to be dominant as St/m→0 . Finally, SPOD and resolvent analyses of localized regions show that the lift-up mechanism is present throughout the jet, with a dominant azimuthal wavenumber inversely proportional to streamwise distance from the nozzle, with streaks of azimuthal wavenumber exceeding five near the nozzle, and wavenumbers one and two most energetic far downstream of the potential core

Measurement of nuclear effects in neutrino interactions with minimal dependence on neutrino energy

We present a phenomenological study of nuclear effects in neutrino charged-current interactions, using transverse kinematic imbalances in exclusive measurements. Novel observables with minimal dependence on neutrino energy are proposed to study quasielastic scattering, and especially resonance production. They should be able to provide direct constraints on nuclear effects in neutrino- and antineutrino-nucleus interactions.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, accepted version by PR

Wavelengths and Energy Levels of the Upper Levels of Singly Ionized Nickel (Ni ii) from 3<i>d</i>⁸(³<i>F</i>)5<i>f</i> to 3d⁸(³<i>F)</i>9<i>s</i>

Using high-resolution spectra of Ni ii recorded using Fourier transform (FT) spectroscopy of continuous, nickel-helium hollow cathode discharge sources in the region 143-5555 nm (1800-70,000 cm−1, the analysis of 1016 Ni ii lines confirmed and optimized 206 previously reported energy levels of the (3 F) parent term, from 3d 8(3 F)5f to 3d 8(3 F)9s, lying between 122,060 and 138,563 cm−1. The uncertainties of these levels have been improved by at least an order of magnitude compared with their previously reported values. With the increased resolution and spectral range of the FT measurements, compared to previously published grating spectra, we were able to extend our analysis to identify and establish 33 new energy levels of Ni ii, which are reported here for the first time. Eigenvector compositions of all revised and newly established energy levels were calculated using the orthogonal operator method. In addition, an improved ionization energy of 146,541.35 ± 0.15 cm−1 for Ni ii, using highly excited levels of the 3d 8(3 F)5g, 3d 8(3 F)6g, and 3d 8(3 F)6h configurations, has been derived.</p

IRAS 05436-0007 and the Emergence of McNeil's Nebula

We present a study of McNeil's Nebula, a newly appeared reflection nebula in the L1630 cloud, together with photometry and spectroscopy of its source. New IR photometry compared to earlier 2MASS data shows that the star has brightened by about 3 magnitudes in the near-infrared, changing its location in a J-H/H-K diagram precisely along a reddening vector. A Gemini NIRI K-band spectrum shows strong CO-bandhead emission and Br-gamma is in emission, indicative of strong accretion. A Gemini GMOS optical spectrum shows only a red, heavily veiled continuum, with H-alpha strongly in emission and displaying a pronounced P Cygni profile, with an absorption trough reaching velocities up to 600 km s-1. This implies significant mass loss in a powerful wind. However, no evidence is found for any shocks, as commonly seen in collimated outflows from young stars. Apparently the eruption has dispersed a layer of extinction and this, together with the intrinsic brightening of the IRAS source, has allowed an earlier outflow cavity to be flooded with light, thus creating McNeil's Nebula.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Association of carotid atherosclerosis and left ventricular hypertrophy.

AbstractObjectives. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in a large group of asymptomatic hypertensive and normotensive adults and to examine its relation to the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy.Background. Both electrocardiographic and echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy predict an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality, including cerebrovascular disease, but the mechanism of association is unknown.Methods. Four hundred eighty-six (277 normotensive and 209 untreated hypertensive) adults, free of clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease, were studied prospectively with echocardiography to determine left ventricular mass and carotid ultrasound to detect atherosclerosis and to measure common carotid artery dimensions.Results. Carotid atherosclerosis was present in 16% of normotensive and 23% of hypertensive participants (p < 0.05) and was associated with older age, higher systolic and pulse pressures and larger left ventricular mass index ([mean ± SD] 91 ± 19 vs. 82 ± 18 g/m2, p < 0.0001). The difference in mass persisted after adjustment for baseline differences in age and blood pressure. Subjects with left ventricular hypertrophy were twice as likely to have carotid atheromas (35% vs. 18%, p < 0.01). Logistic regression analyses, including standard risk factors, indicated that only age and left ventricular mass index independently predicted the presence of carotid plaque, both in the entire study group and when normotensive and hypertensive subjects were considered separately.Conclusions. We believe that the present study provides the first evidence that higher left ventricular mass as detected by echocardiography is associated with the presence of carotid plaque. The association between cardiac hypertrophy and systemic atherosclerosis may contribute to the pathogenesis of the high incidence of vascular events that is well documented in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy