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At least 361 records · Page 20

Subsurface Structure of the Ismenius Area and Implications for Evolution of the Martian Dichotomy and Magnetic Field

The Martian dichotomy divides the smooth, northern lowlands from the rougher southern highlands. The northern lowlands are largely free of magnetic anomalies, while the majority of the significant magnetic anomalies are located in the southern highlands. An elevation change of 2-4 km is typical across the dichotomy, and is up to 6 km locally. We examine a part of the dichotomy that is likely to preserve the early history of the dichotomy as it is relatively unaffected by major impacts and erosion. This study contains three parts: 1) the geologic history, which is summarized below and detailed in McGill et al., 2) the study of the gravity and magnetic field to better constrain the subsurface structure and history of the magnetic field (this abstract), and 3) modeling of the relaxation of this area. Our overall goal is to place constraints on formation models of the dichotomy by constraining lithospheric properties. Initial results for the analysis of the geology, gravity, and magnetic field studies are synthesized in Smrekar et al..

Smrekar, S. E.↗

THEMIS Satellite Observations of Hot Flow Anomalies at Earth's Bow Shock

Hot flow anomalies (HFAs) at Earth's bow shock were identified in Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms (THEMIS) satellite data from 2007 to 2009. The events were classified as young or mature and also as regular or spontaneous hot flow anomalies (SHFAs). The dataset has 17 young SHFAs, 49 mature SHFAs, 15 young HFAs, and 55 mature HFAs. They span a wide range of magnetic local times (MLTs) from approximately 7 to 16.5MLT. The largest ratio of solar wind to HFA core density occurred near dusk and at larger distances from the bow shock. In this study, HFAs and SHFAs were observed up to 6.3 RE and 6.1 RE (Earth radii), respectively, upstream from the model bow shock. HFA-SHFA occurrence decreases with distance upstream from the bow shock. HFAs of the highest event core ion temperatures were not seen at the flanks. The ratio of HFA ion temperature increase to HFA electron temperature increase is highest around 12MLT and slightly duskward. For SHFAs, (Tihfa=Tisw)/(Tehfa=Tesw) generally increased with distance from the bow shock. Both mature and young HFAs are more prevalent when there is an approximately radial interplanetary magnetic field. HFAs occur most preferentially for solar wind speeds from 550 to 600 km s-1. The correlation coefficient between the HFA increase in thermal energy density from solar wind values and the decrease in kinetic energy density from solar wind values is 0.62. SHFAs and HFAs do not show major differences in this study.

Interplanetary physics (planetary bow shocks; sola↗

Lambayeque Water Resources: Assessing Hydrologic Patterns Using NASA Earth Observations to Address Tree Mortality in Peru’s Coastal Mesquite Forests

The mesquite (Prosopis sp.) forests in Northwestern Peru have had a significant increase in tree mortality in the past fifty years. Within this time frame, 17% of the forest extent was lost and the forest saw an average annual declination rate of 0.33% (Ektvedt, Vetaas, & Lundberg, 2012). These habitats support the region's rich biodiversity and play an important role in local community economies. Several hydrologic causes for mesquite mortality have been hypothesized, but local researchers lack spatially comprehensive techniques to address the problem. While in situ research is currently being utilized in an attempt to explain this recent anomaly, landscape-level visualizations through remote sensing have not been produced to find connections between hydrologic trends and the health of Northwestern Peru’s mesquite forests. Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data and Global Land Data Assimilation System data were analyzed to assess hydrologic patterns pertaining to precipitation and soil moisture in the Lambayeque region of Peru. These data were then paired with vegetation indices derived from Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to display how changing hydrologic patterns relate to the health of mesquite trees. These data were then compiled on a monthly basis over the 30-year study period to create a time series product, which was later referenced with background research to find the likely causes of recent forest decline. The results will assist in the Lambayeque Regional Government’s understanding of recent biological declination and will help them design strategies to mitigate forest decline in Lambayeque, Peru and surrounding regions.

Water Resources↗

Lambayeque Water Resources: Assessing Hydrologic Patterns Using NASA Earth Observations to Address Tree Mortality in Peru’s Coastal Mesquite Forests

The mesquite (Prosopi ssp.) forests in Northwestern Peru have had a significant increase in tree mortality in the past fifty years. Within this time frame, 17% of the forest extent was lost and the forest saw an average annual declination rate of 0.33% (Ektvedt, Vetaas, & Lundberg, 2012). These habitats support the region's rich biodiversity and play an important role in local community economies. Several hydrologic causes for mesquite mortality have been hypothesized, but local researchers lack spatially comprehensive techniques to address the problem. While in situ research is currently being utilized in an attempt to explain this recent anomaly, landscape-level visualizations through remote sensing have not been produced to find connections between hydrologic trends and the health of Northwestern Peru’s mesquite forests. Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station dataand Global Land Data Assimilation Systemdata were analyzed to assess hydrologic patterns pertaining to precipitation and soil moisture in the Lambayeque region of Peru. These data were then paired with vegetation indices derived from Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to display how changing hydrologic patterns relate to the health of mesquite trees. These data were then compiled on a monthly basis over the 30-year study period to create a time series product, which was later referenced with background research to find the likely causes of recent forest decline. The results will assist in the Lambayeque Regional Government’s understanding of recent biological declination and will help them design strategies to mitigate forest decline in Lambayeque, Peru and surrounding regions.

Water Resources↗

NMF-Based Anomaly Detection in CMS 2D Tracking Occupancy Histograms

The CMS experiment relies on Data Quality Monitoring (DQM) to ensure that recorded collision data are suitable for physics analysis. During LHC Run 3, each run contains many lumisections and tracking monitoring elements, making offline inspection challenging, especially for localized detector effects that may appear only for short periods of time. This poster presents an unsupervised machine-learning approach to identify anomalous lumisections in CMS tracking occupancy histograms using Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). The workflow uses offline CMS DQMIO tracking histograms retrieved with the CMS DIALS API and organized as two-dimensional occupancy maps for each lumisection. After selecting stable lumisections, the occupancy maps are normalized and arranged into a non-negative data matrix. The NMF model learns a compact set of basis patterns describing normal tracking occupancy. Each lumisection is then reconstructed from these learned components, and the reconstruction error is used as an anomaly score. Large residuals indicate occupancy patterns that deviate from normal detector behavior and are flagged for further inspection. This NMF-based approach provides a fast and interpretable way to flag lumisections whose tracking occupancy patterns differ from normal detector behavior. Preliminary studies show sensitivity to known tracking anomalies, and ongoing work is focused on validating the method across additional Run 3 Pixel and Strip detector issues.

Rodríguez Ramos, Iliomar [Puerto Rico U., Mayaguez↗

The Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications (LEIA) Pre-Flight Tests: Mechanical Considerations​

The BioSensor payload on the upcoming LEIA platform aboard the CLPS (CP-22) lander will carry yeast to the Moon's south pole to study the effects of lunar radiation and gravity. From Earth, BioSensor will transport desiccated yeast within 16 fluidic cards, each containing 16 fluidic wells of 100 microliters volume. At the start of the experiment, these microbes will be autonomously rehydrated on the Moon, and optical absorbance measurements at three wavelengths will be performed across all 256 wells. Absorbance measurements in fluidic wells are susceptible to noise and artifacts due to bubble formation during well rehydration and microbial growth. BioSensor, as a biofluidics system, faces significant data anomalies caused by payload vibrations, particularly from the operation of the co-located PROSPECT’s ProSEED drill, to assess lunar resources by penetrating the subsurface. To evaluate the impact of drill vibrations, fully assembled and filled fluidic cards were subjected to sine sweep signals in the x, y, z planes, ranging from 5 - 2560 Hz at g-loads of 0.25 and 0.5, with on-board accelerometer for localized vibration measurement. Wells with various fill conditions, including partial fills with different bubble sizes and completely filled wells, were tested. Results indicated that small bubbles adhered to well walls at high frequencies but were dislodged at low frequencies, causing data anomalies. Medium and large bubbles exhibited higher interference with optical data due to lower surface tension and variable bubble surface flexion. Overall, it was found that irrespective of the fill type, low-frequency vibrations were most detrimental to optical readings. Understanding the drill schedule and correlating it with BioSensor timestamps will help identify periods when BioSensor data is unreliable, a crucial step for accurately interpreting the microbial response data and ensuring the validity of the BioSensor's scientific measurements on the lunar surface.

Chinmayee Govinda Raj↗

Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System

The California Current System (CCS) sustains economically valuable fisheries and is particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification, due to its natural upwelling of carbon-enriched waters that generate corrosive conditions for local ecosystems. Here we use a novel suite of retrospective, initialized ensemble forecasts with an Earth system model (ESM) to predict the evolution of surface pH anomalies in the CCS. We show that the forecast system skillfully predicts observed surface pH variations a year in advance over a naive forecasting method, with the potential for skillful prediction up to five years in advance. Skillful predictions of surface pH are mainly derived from the initialization of dissolved inorganic carbon anomalies that are subsequently transported into the CCS. Our results demonstrate the potential for ESMs to provide skillful predictions of ocean acidification on large scales in the CCS. Initialized ESMs could also provide boundary conditions to improve high-resolution regional forecasting systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Potential vorticity index

Using standard data analysis techniques, researchers explore the links between disturbance growth and quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity (PV) gradients; appearance and disappearance of cutoff lows and blocking highs and their relation to a zonal index (properly defined in terms of PV); and teleconnections between different flow patterns and their relation to the zonal index. It was found that the PV index and the eddy index correlate better than a zonal index (defined by zonal wind) and the eddy index. In the frequency domain there are three frequencies (.03, .07 and .17 cpd (cycle per day) corresponding to periods of 33, 14 and 6 days) at which PV index and the eddy index exhibit local maxima. The high correlation found at periods of 33 days is mainly due to eddy activity at high latitudes while the local correlation maxima found at the shorter periods are mainly due mid-latitude eddy activity. The correlation between the PV index and the geopotential height anomaly at 500 mb, at each grid point in the Northern Hemisphere, shows the existence of most of the teleconnection patterns summarized by Wallace and Gutzler (1981): the North Atlantic Oscillation, the North Pacific Oscillation, and the Pacific/North American patterns. Results show that the Isentropic Potential Vorticity (IPV) analysis can be a very useful and powerful tool when used to understand the dynamics of several large scale atmospheric systems. Although the data are limited to only one winter, and it is difficult to assess the statistical significance of the correlation coefficients presented here, the results are encouraging from physical viewpoint.

Barcilon, Albert↗

Seismic Study of the Dynamics of the Solar Subsurface from SoHO Observations

In collaboration with Dr. Baudin, we have developed and refined the new observational methodology for local helioseismology known as time-distance analysis. Global helioseismology study the solar oscillations as a superposition of resonant modes, whose properties (mode frequencies) reflect the global structure of the sun (sound speed stratification, rotation rate, etc). In contrast, local helioseismology look at the solar oscillations as wave packets whose propagation will be affected by perturbations of the media sampled. These local perturbations (sound speed or velocity flows) will modify the propagation time, that in turn can be used as a diagnostic tool for a given region. From a data reduction perspective, the processing of solar dopplergrams that result in time-distance maps, i.e. propagation times as a function of distance between bounces at the surface, is radically different from the methodology used for global mode analysis. We have, in a first step, further develop the programs needed to carry out such analysis. We have then applied them to NMI data set, and explore the trade-off between various averaging and filtering approaches - steps required to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of correlation maps - and the resulting stability and precision of the fitted propagation times. While excessive averaging (whether over space, propagation distance, or time) will reduce the diagnostic potential of the method, insufficient averaging lead to unstable fits, or uncertainties so large as to hide the information we seek. In a second phase, we have developed the analysis methodology required to infer local properties from perturbation in time propagation. Namely, we have developed time-distance inversion techniques, with an emphasis on inferences of velocity flows from time anomalies. Note also that during the period covered by this grant, all the investigators on this proposal (i.e., Drs. Baudin, Eff-Darwich, Korzennik, and Noyes) took part in the organization of the SOHO 6 /GONG 99 Workshop: Structure and Dynamics of the Interior of the Sun and Sunlike Stars, held on June 1-4 1999 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. it was very well attended by more than 160 participants from 26 countries from all over the world. The proceedings were published in two volumes as ESA SP-418, with Sessions I-III in Volume 1, and Sessions IV-VI in Volume 2 (1,000 pages in total). The complete contents are also included in digital form on a CD-ROM included with Volume 1. This CD-ROM also contains additional multi-media material that complements some of the contributions.

Korzennik, Sylvain G.↗

Regulation of H2O and CO in Tropical Tropopause Layer by the Madden-Julian Oscillation

Impacts of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) on the water vapor (H2O) and carbon monoxide (CO) abundances in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) are investigated using Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) data for November 2004 to May 2005. The effects of the eastward propagation of MJO on H2O and CO abundances in the TTL are evident. Deep convection transports H20 into the upper troposphere up to about the 355-365 K level. Around the 365-375 K level, a dry anomaly is collocated with a cold anomaly, which is above a warm anomaly located near the region of convection enhancement. Tropical mean H20 at 375 K is regulated by the MJO through convection enhancement and coherent with the local MJO-related temperature variation. The locations of dehydration follow the eastward propagation of convection enhancement and its area extent depends on the phase of the MJO. Enhancement of deep convection associated with the MJO also injects CO from the lower troposphere to the TTL up to 375 K. However, tropical mean CO at 375 K responds instantaneously to the large injection event occurring over the African continent.

Wong, Sun↗

Smooth Dispersion Is Physically Appropriate: Assessing and Amending the D4 Dispersion Model

The addition of dispersion corrections to density functionals is essential for accurate energy and geometry predictions. Among them, the D4 scheme is popular due to its low computational cost and high accuracy. However, due to its design, the D4 correction can occasionally lead to anomalies, such as unphysical curvature and bumps in the potential energy surface. We find these anomalies are common in the D4 model, although observable consequences are rarer than in the D3 model for reasons we explain. Nevertheless, we uncover instances of unphysical local minima and stationary points with the D4 scheme and propose two solutions that yield smoother dispersion energy as a function of nuclear position. One is trivial to implement, based on a smoother reparametrization of Gaussian weighting (D4S) to find the effective coordination number. The other replaces Gaussian weighting with soft linear interpolation (D4SL). These new approaches usually remove artificial extremum points, while maintaining accuracy.

Tkachenko, Nikolay V↗

Anomalous lattice relaxation dynamics in optimally doped La 2−𝑥⁢ Sr 𝑥 ⁢CuO 4

The atomic lattice plays a critical role in the emergence of high-𝑇 𝑐 superconductivity in cuprates. While the dynamics associated with electron-lattice coupling typically unfold on picosecond-to-femtosecond timescales, we present an x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy investigation on an optimally doped La-based cuprate that reveals a strong response of kilosecond-scale lattice relaxation dynamics to the superconducting state. Notably, an anomaly emerges around 𝑇 𝑐 : upon cooling into the superconducting state, the average atomic relaxation lifetime decreases, i.e., dynamics accelerate. This indicates a significant change in the local disorder-induced strain field dynamics at the superconducting transition, highlighting a remarkable coupling between superconductivity and the lattice on quasistatic timescales.

Petsch, A. N. [SLAC National Accelerator Laborator↗

Plasma phenomena observed in the MAP/WINE campaign

The wealth of plasma data gathered in the MAP/WINE campaign allows insight into the generation of electron densities on a large, and the nature of the ions on a small scale. The associated measurements of winds and charged particles help to understand the morphology of the midlatitude ionization which turns out to correlate poorly with geomagnetic activity, but at least slightly with the prevailing winds. A somewhat clearer connection seems to exist between stratospheric warmings and radio wave absorption minima. On the local scale the interpretation of the rocket measurements of positive ions was helped by simultaneous observations of temperatures and atomic oxygen. The relevance of the description winter anomaly for high latitude electron density profiles are examined.

Friedrich, M.↗

A Search for Soot from Global Wildfires in Central Pacific Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary and Other Extinction and Impact Horizon Sediments

Hypotheses of global wildfires following the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) boundary impact are supported by high concentrations of elemental carbon (3.6 mg cm-3) and soot (1.8 mg cm-2) in DSDP Site 465, which was located several thousand kilometers from potential continental sources at 65 Ma. Soot is not preserved at four other central Pacific KT localities, but this is attributed to loss during oxic diagenesis. We find no evidence for wildfires related to major impacts in the late Eocene or to Ir anomalies and extinctions in the late Cenomanian.

Wolbach, Wendy S.↗

Global Distribution and Variability of Surface Skin and Surface Air Temperatures as Depicted in the AIRS Version-6 Data Set

In this presentation, we will briefly describe the significant improvements made in the AIRS Version-6 retrieval algorithm, especially as to how they affect retrieved surface skin and surface air temperatures. The global distribution of seasonal 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM local time 12 year climatologies of Ts,a will be presented for the first time. We will also present the spatial distribution of short term 12 year anomaly trends of Ts,a at 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM, as well as the spatial distribution of temporal correlations of Ts,a with the El Nino Index. It will be shown that there are significant differences between the behavior of 1:30 AM and 1:30 PM Ts,a anomalies in some arid land areas.

Retrieval algorithm↗

Volcanic Eruption Signatures in the Isotope Enabled Last Millennium Ensemble

Explosive volcanic eruptions are one of the largest natural climate perturbations, but few observational constraints exist on either the climate responses to eruptions or the properties (size, hemispheric aerosol distribution, etc.) of the eruptions themselves. Paleoclimate records are thus important sources of information on past eruptions, often through the measurement of oxygen isotopic ratios (𝛿18O) in natural archives. However, since many processes affect 𝛿18O, the dynamical interpretation of these records can be quite complex. Here we present results from new, isotope-enabled members of the Community Earth System Model Last Millennium Ensemble, documenting eruption-induced 𝛿18O variations throughout the climate system. Eruptions create significant perturbations in the 𝛿18O of precipitation and soil moisture in central/eastern North America, via excitation of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Monsoon Asia and Australia also exhibit strong precipitation and soil 𝛿18O anomalies; in these cases, 𝛿18O may reflect changes to El Niño-Southern Oscillation phase following eruptions. Salinity and seawater 𝛿18O patterns demonstrate the importance of both local hydrologic shifts and the phasing of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation response, both along the equator and in the subtropics. In all cases, the responses are highly sensitive to eruption latitude, which points to the utility of isotopic records in constraining aerosol distribution patterns associated with past eruptions. This is most effective using precipitation 𝛿18O; all Southern eruptions and the majority (66%) of Northern eruptions can be correctly identified. This work thus serves as a starting point for new, quantitative uses of isotopic records for understanding volcanic impacts on climate.

Stevenson, S.↗

A Local Scalable Distributed Expectation Maximization Algorithm for Large Peer-to-Peer Networks

This paper offers a local distributed algorithm for expectation maximization in large peer-to-peer environments. The algorithm can be used for a variety of well-known data mining tasks in a distributed environment such as clustering, anomaly detection, target tracking to name a few. This technology is crucial for many emerging peer-to-peer applications for bioinformatics, astronomy, social networking, sensor networks and web mining. Centralizing all or some of the data for building global models is impractical in such peer-to-peer environments because of the large number of data sources, the asynchronous nature of the peer-to-peer networks, and dynamic nature of the data/network. The distributed algorithm we have developed in this paper is provably-correct i.e. it converges to the same result compared to a similar centralized algorithm and can automatically adapt to changes to the data and the network. We show that the communication overhead of the algorithm is very low due to its local nature. This monitoring algorithm is then used as a feedback loop to sample data from the network and rebuild the model when it is outdated. We present thorough experimental results to verify our theoretical claims.

Bhaduri, Kanishka↗

Interannual Rainfall Variability in the Tropical Atlantic Region

Rainfall variability on seasonal and interannual-to-interdecadal time scales in the tropical Atlantic is quantified using a 25-year (1979-2003) monthly rainfall dataset from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). The ITCZ measured by monthly rainfall between 15-37.5 deg W attains its peak as moving to the northernmost latitude (4-10 deg N) during July-September in which the most total rainfall is observed in the tropical Atlantic basin (17.5 deg S-22.5 deg N, 15 deg-37.5 deg W); the ITCZ becomes weakest during January-February with the least total rainfall as it moves to the south. In contrast, rainfall variability on interannual to interdecadal time scales shows a quite different seasonal preference. The most intense interannual variability occurs during March-May when the ITCZ tends to be near the equator and becomes weaker. Significant, negative correlations between the ITCZ strength and latitude anomalies are observed during boreal spring and early summer. The ITCZ strength and total rainfall amount in the tropical Atlantic basin are significantly modulated by the Pacific El Nino and the Atlantic equatorial mode (or Atlantic Nino) particularly during boreal spring and summer; whereas the impact of the Atlantic interhemispheric mode is considerably weaker. Regarding the anomalous latitudes of the ITCZ, the influence can come from both local, i.e., the Atlantic interhemispheric and equatorial modes, and remote forcings, i. e., El Nino; however, a direct impact of El Nino on the latitudes of the ITCZ can only be found during April-July, not in winter and early spring in which the warmest SST anomalies are usually observed in the equatorial Pacific.

Gu, Guojun↗