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Journal articleNair V, Heus T, van Reeuwijk M, 2021,
A Lagrangian study of interfaces at the edges of cumulus clouds
, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol: 78, Pages: 2397-2412, ISSN: 0022-4928Interfaces at the edge of an idealised, non-precipitating, warm cloud are studied using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) complemented with a Lagrangian particle tracking routine. Once a shell has formed, four zones can be distinguished: the cloud core, visible shell, invisible shell and the environment. The union of the visible and invisible regions is the shell commonly referred to in literature. The boundary between the invisible shell and the environment is the Turbulent-NonTurbulent Interface (TNTI) which is typically not considered in cloud studies. Three million particles were seeded homogeneously across the domain and properties were recorded along individual trajectories. The results demonstrate that the traditional cloud boundary (separating cloudy and non-cloudy regions using thresholds applied on liquid condensate or updraft velocity) are some distance away from the TNTI. Furthermore, there is no dynamic difference between the traditional liquid-condensate boundary and the region extending to the TNTI. However, particles crossing the TNTI exhibit a sharp jump in enstrophy and a smooth increase in buoyancy. The traditional cloud boundary coincides with the location of minimum buoyancy in the shell. The shell pre-mixes the entraining and detraining air and analysis reveals a highly skewed picture of entrainment and detrainment at the traditional cloud boundary. A preferential entrainment of particles with velocity and specific humidity higher than the mean values in the shell is observed. Large-eddy simulation of a more realistic setup detects an interface with similar properties using the same thresholds as in the DNS, indicating that the DNS results extrapolate beyond their idealised conditions.
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Journal articlePulupa M, Bale SD, Curry SM, et al., 2021,
Non-Detection of Lightning During the Second Parker Solar Probe Venus Gravity Assist
, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, Vol: 48, ISSN: 0094-8276- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 4
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Journal articleGryspeerdt E, Goren T, Smith T, 2021,
Observing the timescales of aerosol-cloud interactions in snapshot satellite images
, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol: 21, Pages: 6093-6109, ISSN: 1680-7316The response of cloud processes to an aerosol perturbation is one of the largest uncertainties in the anthropogenic forcing of the climate. It occurs at a variety of timescales, from the near-instantaneous Twomey effect to the longer timescales required for cloud adjustments. Understanding the temporal evolution of cloud properties following an aerosol perturbation is necessary to interpret the results of so-called “natural experiments” from a known aerosol source such as a ship or industrial site. This work uses reanalysis wind fields and ship emission information matched to observations of ship tracks to measure the timescales of cloud responses to aerosol in instantaneous (or“snapshot”) images taken by polar-orbiting satellites.As in previous studies, the local meteorological environment is shown to have a strong impact on the occurrence and properties of ship tracks, but there is a strong time dependence in their properties. The largest droplet number concentration (Nd) responses are found within 3 h of emission, while cloud adjustments continue to evolve over periods of 10 h or more. Cloud fraction is increased within the early life of ship tracks, with the formation of ship tracks in otherwise clear skies indicating that around 5 %–10 % of clear-sky cases in this region may be aerosol-limited.The liquid water path (LWP) enhancement and the Nd–LWP sensitivity are also time dependent and strong functions of the background cloud and meteorological state. The near-instant response of the LWP within ship tracks may be evidence of a bias in estimates of the LWP response to aerosol derived from natural experiments. These results highlight the importance of temporal development and the background cloud field for quantifying the aerosol impact on clouds, even in situations where the aerosol perturbation is clear.
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Journal articleHeyner, Auster, Fornacon, et al., 2021,
The BepiColombo Planetary Magnetometer MPO-MAG: what can we Learn from the Hermean magnetic field?
, Space Science Reviews, Vol: 217, ISSN: 0038-6308The magnetometer instrument MPO-MAG on-board the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) of the BepiColombo mission en-route to Mercury is introduced, with its instrument design, its calibration and scientific targets. The instrument is comprised of two tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers mounted on a 2.9 m boom and are 0.8 m apart. They monitor the magnetic field with up to 128 Hz in a ±2048 nT range. The MPO will be injected into an initial 480×1500 km polar orbit (2.3 h orbital period). At Mercury, we will map the planetary magnetic field and determine the dynamo generated field and constrain the secular variation. In this paper, we also discuss the effect of the instrument calibration on the ability to improve the knowledge on the internal field. Furthermore, the study of induced magnetic fields and field-aligned currents will help to constrain the interior structure in concert with other geophysical instruments. The orbit is also well-suited to study dynamical phenomena at the Hermean magnetopause and magnetospheric cusps. Together with its sister instrument Mio-MGF on-board the second satellite of the BepiColombo mission, the magnetometers at Mercury will study the reaction of the highly dynamic magnetosphere to changes in the solar wind. In the extreme case, the solar wind might even collapse the entire dayside magnetosphere. During cruise, MPO-MAG will contribute to studies of solar wind turbulence and transient phenomena.
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Journal articleMackie A, Brindley HE, Palmer PI, 2021,
Contrasting observed atmospheric responses to tropical SST warming patterns
, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol: 126, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 2169-897XEquilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is a theoretical concept which describes the change in global mean surface temperature that results from a sustained doubling of atmospheric CO2. Current ECS estimates range from ∼1.8 to 5.6 K, reflecting uncertainties in climate feedbacks. The sensitivity of the lower (1,000–700 hPa) and upper (500–200 hPa) troposphere to changes in spatial patterns of tropical sea surface temperature (SST) have been proposed by recent model studies as key feedbacks controlling climate sensitivity. We examine empirical evidence for these proposed mechanisms using 14 years of satellite data. We examine the response of temperature and humidity profiles, clouds, and top‐of‐the‐atmosphere radiation to relative warming in tropical ocean regions when there is either strong convection or subsidence. We find warmer SSTs in regions of strong subsidence are coincident with a decrease in lower tropospheric stability (−0.9 ± 0.4 KK−1) and low cloud cover (∼−6% K−1). This leads to a warming associated with the weakening in the shortwave cooling effect of clouds (4.2 ± 1.9 Wm−2K−1), broadly consistent with model calculations. In contrast, warmer SSTs in regions of strong convection are coincident with an increase in upper tropospheric humidity (3.2 ± 1.5% K−1). In this scenario, the dominant effect is the enhancement of the warming longwave cloud radiative effect (3.8 ± 3.0 Wm−2K−1) from an increase in high cloud cover (∼7% K−1), though changes in the net (longwave and shortwave) effect are not statistically significant (p < 0.003). Our observational evidence supports the existence of mechanisms linking contrasting atmospheric responses to patterns in SST, mechanisms which have been linked to climate sensitivity.
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Journal articleQu Y, Voulgarakis A, Wang T, et al., 2021,
A study of the effect of aerosols on surface ozone through meteorology feedbacks over China
, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol: 21, Pages: 5705-5718, ISSN: 1680-7316Interactions between aerosols and gases in the atmosphere have been the focus of an increasing number of studies in recent years. Here, we focus on aerosol effects on tropospheric ozone that involve meteorological feedbacks induced by aerosol–radiation interactions. Specifically, we study the effects that involve aerosol influences on the transport of gaseous pollutants and on atmospheric moisture, both of which can impact ozone chemistry. For this purpose, we use the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1), with which we performed sensitivity simulations including and excluding the aerosol direct radiative effect (ADE) on atmospheric chemistry, and focused our analysis on an area with a high aerosol presence, namely China. By comparing the simulations, we found that ADE reduced shortwave radiation by 11 % in China and consequently led to lower turbulent kinetic energy, weaker horizontal winds and a shallower boundary layer (with a maximum of 102.28 m reduction in north China). On the one hand, the suppressed boundary layer limited the export and diffusion of pollutants and increased the concentration of CO, SO2, NO, NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 in the aerosol-rich regions. The NO/NO2 ratio generally increased and led to more ozone depletion. On the other hand, the boundary layer top acted as a barrier that trapped moisture at lower altitudes and reduced the moisture at higher altitudes (the specific humidity was reduced by 1.69 % at 1493 m on average in China). Due to reduced water vapour, fewer clouds were formed and more sunlight reached the surface, so the photolytical production of ozone increased. Under the combined effect of the two meteorology feedback methods, the annual average ozone concentration in China declined by 2.01 ppb (6.2 %), which was found to bring the model into closer agreement with surface ozone measurements from different parts of China.
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Journal articleHellinger P, Verdini A, Landi S, et al., 2021,
Scale dependence and cross-scale transfer of kinetic energy in compressible hydrodynamic turbulence at moderate Reynolds numbers
, PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS, Vol: 6, ISSN: 2469-990X- Cite
- Citations: 4
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Journal articleDel Zanna G, Andretta V, Cargill PJ, et al., 2021,
High resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy and the quest for the hot (5-10 MK) plasma in solar active regions
, Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, Vol: 8, Pages: 1-19, ISSN: 2296-987XWe discuss the diagnostics available to study the 5–10 MK plasma in the solar corona, which is key to understanding the heating in the cores of solar active regions. We present several simulated spectra, and show that excellent diagnostics are available in the soft X-rays, around 100 Å, as six ionization stages of Fe can simultaneously be observed, and electron densities derived, within a narrow spectral region. As this spectral range is almost unexplored, we present an analysis of available and simulated spectra, to compare the hot emission with the cooler component. We adopt recently designed multilayers to present estimates of count rates in the hot lines, with a baseline spectrometer design. Excellent count rates are found, opening up the exciting opportunity to obtain high-resolution spectroscopy of hot plasma.
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Journal articleArcher MO, DeWitt J, 2021,
“Thanks for helping me find my enthusiasm for physics”: the lasting impacts “research in schools” projects can have on students, teachers, and schools
, Geoscience Communication, Vol: 4, Pages: 169-188, ISSN: 2569-7110Using 6 years of evaluation data, we assess the medium- and long-term impacts upon a diverse range of students, teachers, and schools from participating in a programme of protracted university-mentored projects based on cutting-edge space science, astronomy, and particle physics research. After having completed their 6-month-long projects, the 14–18-year-old school students report having substantially increased in confidence relating to relevant scientific topics and methods as well as having developed numerous skills, outcomes which are corroborated by teachers. There is evidence that the projects helped increase students' aspirations towards physics, whereas science aspirations (generally high to begin with) were typically maintained or confirmed through their involvement. Longitudinal evaluation 3 years later has revealed that these projects have been lasting experiences for students which they have benefited from and drawn upon in their subsequent university education. Data on students' destinations suggest that their involvement in research projects has made them more likely to undertake physics and STEM degrees than would otherwise be expected. Cases of co-created novel physics research resulting from Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE) has also seemed to have a powerful effect, not only on the student co-authors, but also participating students from other schools. Teachers have also been positively affected through participating, with the programme having influenced their own knowledge, skills, and pedagogy, as well as having advantageous effects felt across their wider schools. These impacts suggest that similar “research in schools” initiatives may have a role to play in aiding the increased uptake and diversity of physics and/or STEM in higher education as well as meaningfully enhancing the STEM environment within schools.
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Journal articleArcher MO, DeWitt J, Thorley C, et al., 2021,
Evaluating participants' experience of extended interaction with cutting-edge physics research through the PRiSE “research in schools” programme
, Geoscience Communication, Vol: 4, Pages: 147-168, ISSN: 2569-7110Physics in schools is distinctly different from, and struggles to capture the excitement of, university research-level work. Initiatives where students engage in independent research linked to cutting-edge physics within their school over several months might help mitigate this, potentially facilitating the uptake of science in higher education. However, how such initiatives are best supported remains unclear and understudied. This paper evaluates a provision framework, Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE), using survey data from participating 14–18-year-old students and their teachers to understand their experience of the programme. The results show that PRiSE appears to provide much more positive experiences than typical university outreach initiatives due to the nature of the opportunities afforded over several months, which schools would not be able to provide without external input. The intensive support offered is deemed necessary, with all elements appearing equally important. Based on additional feedback from independent researchers and engagement professionals, we also suggest the framework could be adopted at other institutions and applied to their own areas of scientific research, something which has already started to occur.
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Journal articleArcher MO, 2021,
Schools of all backgrounds can do physics research – on the accessibility and equity of the Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE) approach to independent research projects
, Geoscience Communication, Vol: 4, Pages: 189-208, ISSN: 2569-7110Societal biases are a major issue in school students' access to and interaction with science. School engagement programmes in science from universities, like independent research projects, which could try and tackle these problems are, however, often inequitable. We evaluate these concerns applied to one such programme, Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE), which features projects in space science, astronomy, and particle physics. Comparing the schools involved with PRiSE to those of other similar schemes and UK national statistics, we find that PRiSE has engaged a much more diverse set of schools with significantly more disadvantaged groups than is typical. While drop-off occurs within the protracted programme, we find no evidence of systematic biases present. The majority of schools that complete projects return for multiple years with the programme, with this repeated buy-in from schools again being unpatterned by typical societal inequalities. Therefore, a school's ability to succeed in independent research projects appears independent of background within the PRiSE framework. Qualitative feedback from teachers shows that the diversity and equity of the programme, which they attribute to the level of support offered through PRiSE's framework, is valued, and they have highlighted further ways of making the projects potentially even more accessible. Researcher involvement, uncommon in many other programmes, along with teacher engagement and communication are found to be key elements to success in independent research projects overall.
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Journal articleTurner DL, Wilson LB, Goodrich KA, et al., 2021,
Direct multipoint observations capturing the reformation of a supercritical fast magnetosonic shock
, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol: 911, Pages: 1-11, ISSN: 2041-8205Using multipoint Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations in an unusual string-of-pearls configuration, we examine in detail observations of the reformation of a fast magnetosonic shock observed on the upstream edge of a foreshock transient structure upstream of Earth's bow shock. The four MMS spacecraft were separated by several hundred kilometers, comparable to suprathermal ion gyroradius scales or several ion inertial lengths. At least half of the shock reformation cycle was observed, with a new shock ramp rising up out of the "foot" region of the original shock ramp. Using the multipoint observations, we convert the observed time-series data into distance along the shock normal in the shock's rest frame. That conversion allows for a unique study of the relative spatial scales of the shock's various features, including the shock's growth rate, and how they evolve during the reformation cycle. Analysis indicates that the growth rate increases during reformation, electron-scale physics play an important role in the shock reformation, and energy conversion processes also undergo the same cyclical periodicity as reformation. Strong, thin electron-kinetic-scale current sheets and large-amplitude electrostatic and electromagnetic waves are reported. Results highlight the critical cross-scale coupling between electron-kinetic- and ion-kinetic-scale processes and details of the nature of nonstationarity, shock-front reformation at collisionless, fast magnetosonic shocks.
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Journal articleRobertson SL, Eastwood JP, Stawarz JE, et al., 2021,
Electron trapping in magnetic mirror structures at the edge of magnetopause flux ropes
, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol: 126, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 2169-9380Flux ropes are a proposed site for particle energization during magnetic reconnection, with several mechanisms proposed. Here, Magnetospheric Multiscale mission observations of magnetic mirror structures on the edge of two ion‐scale magnetopause flux ropes are presented. Donut‐shaped features in the electron pitch angle distributions provide evidence for electron trapping in the structures. Furthermore, both events show trapping with extended 3D structure along the body of the flux rope. Potential formation mechanisms, such as the magnetic mirror instability, are examined and the evolutionary states of the structures are compared. Pressure and force analysis suggest that such structures could provide an important electron acceleration mechanism for magnetopause flux ropes, and for magnetic reconnection more generally.
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Journal articleBurns JO, MacDowall R, Bale S, et al., 2021,
Low Radio Frequency Observations from the Moon Enabled by NASA Landed Payload Missions
, PLANETARY SCIENCE JOURNAL, Vol: 2- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 5
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Journal articleHapgood M, Angling MJ, Attrill G, et al., 2021,
Development of space weather reasonable worst‐case scenarios for the UK national risk assessment
, Space Weather, Vol: 19, Pages: 1-32, ISSN: 1542-7390Severe space weather was identified as a risk to the UK in 2010 as part of a wider review of natural hazards triggered by the societal disruption caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April of that year. To support further risk assessment by government officials, and at their request, we developed a set of reasonable worst‐case scenarios and first published them as a technical report in 2012 (current version published in 2020). Each scenario focused on a space weather environment that could disrupt a particular national infrastructure such as electric power or satellites, thus, enabling officials to explore the resilience of that infrastructure against severe space weather through discussions with relevant experts from other parts of government and with the operators of that infrastructure. This approach also encouraged us to focus on the environmental features that are key to generating adverse impacts. In this paper, we outline the scientific evidence that we have used to develop these scenarios, and the refinements made to them as new evidence emerged. We show how these scenarios are also considered as an ensemble so that government officials can prepare for a severe space weather event, during which many or all of the different scenarios will materialize. Finally, we note that this ensemble also needs to include insights into how public behavior will play out during a severe space weather event and hence the importance of providing robust, evidence‐based information on space weather and its adverse impacts.
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Journal articleChhiber R, Matthaeus WH, Bowen TA, et al., 2021,
Subproton-scale Intermittency in Near-Sun Solar Wind Turbulence Observed by the Parker Solar Probe
, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, Vol: 911, ISSN: 2041-8205- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 45
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Journal articleCattell C, Breneman A, Dombeck J, et al., 2021,
Parker Solar Probe Evidence for Scattering of Electrons in the Young Solar Wind by Narrowband Whistler-mode Waves
, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, Vol: 911, ISSN: 2041-8205- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 33
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Journal articleChandra N, Patra PK, Bisht JSH, et al., 2021,
Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sectors, Coal Mining and Ruminant Farming Drive Methane Growth over the Past Three Decades
, JOURNAL OF THE METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN, Vol: 99, Pages: 309-337, ISSN: 0026-1165- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 48
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Journal articleHoraites K, Andersson L, Schwartz SJ, et al., 2021,
Observations of Energized Electrons in the Martian Magnetosheath
, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS, Vol: 126, ISSN: 2169-9380- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 4
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Journal articleStaniland NR, Dougherty MK, Masters A, et al., 2021,
The cushion region and dayside magnetodisc structure at Saturn
, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol: 48, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 0094-8276A sustained quasi‐dipolar magnetic field between the current sheet outer edge and the magnetopause, known as a cushion region, has previously been observed at Jupiter, but not yet at Saturn. Using the complete Cassini magnetometer data, the first evidence of a cushion region forming at Saturn is shown. Only five examples of a sustained cushion are found, revealing this phenomenon to be rare. Four of the cushion regions are identified at dusk and one pre‐noon. It is suggested that greater heating of plasma post‐noon coupled with the expansion of the field through the afternoon sector makes the disc more unstable in this region. These results highlight a key difference between the Saturn and Jupiter systems.
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Journal articleStephenson P, Galand M, Feldman PD, et al., 2021,
Multi-instrument analysis of far-ultraviolet aurora in the southern hemisphere of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
, Astronomy and Astrophysics: a European journal, Vol: 647, Pages: 1-19, ISSN: 0004-6361Aims. We aim to determine whether dissociative excitation of cometary neutrals by electron impact is the major source of far ultraviolet (FUV) emissions at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the southern hemisphere at large heliocentric distances, bothduring quiet conditions and impacts of corotating interaction regions observed in the summer of 2016.Methods. We combined multiple datasets from the Rosetta mission through a multi-instrument analysis to complete the first forwardmodelling of FUV emissions in the southern hemisphere of comet 67P and compared modelled brightnesses to observations with theAlice FUV imaging spectrograph. We modelled the brightness of OI1356, OI1304, Lyman-β, CI1657, and CII1335 emissions, whichare associated with the dissociation products of the four major neutral species in the coma: CO2, H2O, CO, and O2. The suprathermalelectron population was probed by the Ion and Electron Sensor of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC/IES) and the neutral col umn density was constrained by several instruments: the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA), theMicrowave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO) and the Visual InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS).Results. The modelled and observed brightnesses of the FUV emission lines agree closely when viewing nadir and dissociativeexcitation by electron impact is shown to be the dominant source of emissions away from perihelion. The CII1335 emissions areshown to be consistent with the volume mixing ratio of CO derived from ROSINA. When viewing the limb during the impactsof corotating interaction regions, the model reproduces brightnesses of OI1356 and CI1657 well, but resonance scattering in theextended coma may contribute significantly to the observed Lyman-β and OI1304 emissions. The correlation between variationsin the suprathermal electron flux and the observed FUV line brightnesses when viewing the comet’s limb suggests electrons areaccelerated on
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Journal articleGoodrich KA, Bonnell JW, Curry S, et al., 2021,
Evidence of Subproton-Scale Magnetic Holes in the Venusian Magnetosheath
, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, Vol: 48, ISSN: 0094-8276- Cite
- Citations: 24
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Journal articleSiddle AG, Mueller-Wodarg ICF, Bruinsma S, et al., 2021,
Density structures in the martian lower thermosphere as inferred by Trace Gas Orbiter accelerometer measurements
, ICARUS, Vol: 357, ISSN: 0019-1035- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 5
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Journal articleSchwartz SJ, Ergun RE, Harald K, et al., 2021,
Evaluating the de Hoffmann-Teller cross-shock potential at real collisionless shocks
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Journal articleNave G, Clear C, 2021,
Reference wavelengths of Si ii, C ii, Fe i, and Ni ii for quasar absorption spectroscopy
, MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Vol: 502, Pages: 5679-5685, ISSN: 0035-8711 -
Journal articleStawarz J, Matteini L, Parashar T, et al., 2021,
Comparative Analysis of the Various Generalized Ohm's Law Terms in Magnetosheath Turbulence as Observed by Magnetospheric Multiscale
<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Electric fields (&lt;strong&gt;E&lt;/strong&gt;) play a fundamental role in facilitating the exchange of energy between the electromagnetic fields and the changed particles within a plasma. &lt;/span&gt;Decomposing &lt;strong&gt;E&lt;/strong&gt; into the contributions from the different terms in generalized Ohm's law, therefore, provides key insight into both the nonlinear and dissipative dynamics across the full range of scales within a plasma. Using the unique, high&amp;#8208;resolution, multi&amp;#8208;spacecraft measurements of three intervals in Earth's magnetosheath from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, the influence of the magnetohydrodynamic, Hall, electron pressure, and electron inertia terms from Ohm's law, as well as the impact of a finite electron mass, on the turbulent electric field&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;spectrum are examined observationally for the first time. The magnetohydrodynamic, Hall, and electron pressure terms are the dominant contributions to &lt;strong&gt;E&lt;/strong&gt; over the accessible length scales, which extend to scales smaller than the electron gyroradius at the greatest extent, with the Hall and electron pressure terms dominating at sub&amp;#8208;ion scales. The strength of the non&amp;#8208;ideal electron pressure contribution is stronger than expected from linear kinetic Alfv&amp;#233;n waves and a partial anti&amp;#8208;alignment with the Hall electric field is present, linked to the relative importance of electron diamagnetic currents within the turbulence. The relative contributions of linear and nonlinear electric fields scale with the turbulent fluctuation amplitude, with nonlinear contributions playing the dominant role in shaping &lt;strong&am
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Journal articleWoolley T, Matteini L, Horbury TS, et al., 2021,
Characterisation and comparison of slow coronal hole wind intervals at 0.13au
<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;The slow solar wind is thought to consist of a component originating close to the Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS) in the streamer belt and a component from over-expanded coronal hole boundaries. In order to understand the roles of these contributions with different origin, it is important to separate and characterise them. By exploiting the fact that Parker Solar Probe&amp;#8217;s fourth and fifth orbits were the same and the solar conditions were similar, we identify intervals of slow polar coronal hole wind sampled at approximately the same heliocentric distance and latitude. Here, solar wind properties are compared, highlighting typical conditions of the slow coronal hole wind closer to the Sun than ever before. We explore different properties of the plasma, including composition, spectra and microphysics, and discuss possible origins for the features that are observed.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>
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Journal articleGood S, Kilpua E, Ala-Lahti M, et al., 2021,
Cross helicity of magnetic clouds observed by Parker Solar Probe
<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;Magnetic clouds are large-scale transient structures in the solar wind with low plasma &lt;em&gt;&amp;#946;&lt;/em&gt;, low-amplitude magnetic field fluctuations, and twisted field lines with both ends often connected to the Sun. We analyse the normalised cross helicity, &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;c&lt;/sub&gt;, and residual energy, &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;r&lt;/sub&gt;, in magnetic clouds observed by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). In the November 2018 cloud observed at 0.25 au, a low value of &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;c&lt;/sub&gt; was present in the cloud core, indicating that wave power parallel and anti-parallel to the mean field was approximately balanced, while the cloud&amp;#8217;s outer layers displayed larger amplitude Alfv&amp;#233;nic fluctuations with high &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;c&lt;/sub&gt; values and &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;r&lt;/sub&gt; ~ 0. These properties are compared and contrasted to those found in clouds observed by PSP at larger heliocentric distances. We suggest that low &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;c&lt;/sub&gt; is likely a common feature of magnetic clouds given their typically closed field structure, in contrast to the generally higher &lt;em&gt;&amp;#963;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;c&lt;/sub&gt; found on the open field lines of the solar wind.&lt;/p&
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Conference paperThomas C, Voulgarakis A, Lim G, et al., 2021,
An unsupervised learning approach to identifying blocking events: the case of European summer
<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;Atmospheric blocking events are mid-latitude weather patterns, which obstruct the usual path of the polar jet stream. Several blocking indices (BIs) have been developed to study blocking patterns and their associated trends, but these show significant seasonal and regional differences. Despite being central features of mid-latitude synoptic-scale weather, there is no well-defined historical dataset of blocking events. Here, we introduce a new blocking index using self-organizing maps (SOMs), an unsupervised machine learning approach, and compare its detection skill to some of the most widely applied BIs. To enable this intercomparison, we first create a new ground truth time series classification of European blocking based on expert judgement. We then demonstrate that our method (SOM-BI) has several key advantages over previous BIs because it exploits all the spatial information provided in the input data and avoids the need for arbitrary thresholds. Using ERA5 reanalysis data (1979-2019), we find that the SOM-BI identifies blocking events with a higher precision and recall than other BIs. We present a case study of the 2003 European heat wave and highlight that well-defined groups of SOM nodes can be an effective tool to reliably and accurately diagnose such weather events. This contrasts with the way SOMs are commonly used, where an individual SOM node can be wrongly assumed to represent a weather pattern. We also evaluate the SOM-BI performance on about 100 years of climate model data from a preindustrial simulation with the new UK Earth System Model (UK-ESM1). For the model data, all blocking detection methods have lower skill than for the ERA5 reanalysis, but SOM-BI performs significantly better than the conventional indices. This shows that our method can be effectively applied to climate models to develop our understanding of how climate change will affect regional blocking characteristics. Overall, our results demonstra
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Journal articleShebanits O, Hadid L, Cao H, et al., 2021,
The conductive dusty ionosphere of Saturn
<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;Cassini&amp;#8217;s Grand Finale orbits brought us historical first in-situ measurements of Saturn&amp;#8217;s ionosphere, showing that it contains dusty plasma in the equatorial region. We present the Pedersen and Hall conductivities of the top ionosphere (10:50 &amp;#8211; 12:17 Saturn Local Time, 10N &amp;#8211; 20S planetocentric latitude), derived from particle and magnetometer data. We constrain the Pedersen conductivities to be at least 10&lt;sup&gt;-5&lt;/sup&gt; &amp;#8211; 10&lt;sup&gt;-4&lt;/sup&gt; S/m at ionospheric peak, a factor 10-100 higher than estimated previously by remote measurements, while the Hall conductivities are very close to 0 or in fact negative. We show that this is an effect of dusty plasma. Another effect is that ionospheric dynamo region thickness is increased to 300-800 km. Furthermore, our results suggest a temporal variation (decrease) of the plasma densities, mean ion masses and consequently the conductivities over the period of one month.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>
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