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We summarize 24 years (1978??2) of ice export estimates and examine, over a 9-year record, the associated variability in the time-varying upward-looking sonar (ULS) thickness distributions of the Fram Strait.
We summarize 24 years of ice export estimates and examine, over a 9-year record, the associated variability in the time-varying upward-looking sonar (ULS) thickness distributions of the Fram Strait. A more thorough assessment of the PMW (passive microwave) ice motion with 5 years of synthetic aperture radar (SAR)observations shows the uncertainties to be consistent with that found by Kwok and Rothrock [1999], giving greater confidence to the record of ice flux calculations.
Developed a new remote sensing method to observe and study the O and M through unique approaches in satellite multi-sensor data integration analyses.
We have calculated the emission from relativistic flows in black hole systems using a fully general relativistic radiative transfer, with flow structures obtained by general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider thermal free-free emission and thermal synchrotron emission. Bright filament-like features are found protruding (visually) from the accretion disk surface, which are enhancements of synchrotron emission when the magnetic field is roughly aligned with the line-of-sight in the co-moving frame. The features move back and forth as the accretion flow evolves, but their visibility and morphology are robust. We propose that variations and location drifts of the features are responsible for certain X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in black-hole X-ray binaries.
We use observations from two aircraft during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) campaign over the eastern United States and North Atlantic during summer 2004, interpreted with a global 3-D model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-Chem) to test current understanding of the regional sources, chemical evolution, and export of nitrogen oxides. The boundary layer NO(x) data provide top-down verification of a 50% decrease in power plant and industry NO(x) emissions over the eastern United States between 1999 and 2004. Observed 8-12 8 km NO(x) concentrations in ICARTT were 0.55 +/- 36 ppbv, much larger than in previous United States aircraft campaigns (ELCHEM, SUCCESS, SONEX). We show that regional lightning was the dominant source of this NO(x) and increased upper tropospheric ozone by 10 ppbv. Simulating the ICARTT upper tropospheric NO(x) observations with GEOS-Chem require a factor of 4 increase in the model NO(x) yield per flash (to 500 mol/flash). Observed OH concentrations were a factor of 2 lower than can be explained from current photochemical models, and if correct would imply a broader lightning influence in the upper troposphere than presently thought.An NO(y)-CO correlation analysis of the fraction f of North American NO(x) emissions vented to the free troposphere as NO(y) (sum of NO(x) and its oxidation products PAN and HNO3) s shows observed f=16+/-10 percent and modeled f=14 +/- 8 percent, consistent with previous studies. Export to the lower free troposphere is mostly HNO3 but at higher altitudes is mostly PAN. The model successfully simulates NO(y) export efficiency and speciation, supporting previous model estimates of a large U.S. contribution to tropospheric ozone through NO(x) and PAN export.
The application of capillary screen liquid acquisition devices to space-based cryogenic propulsion systems is expected to necessitate thermodynamic conditioning in order to stabilize surface tension retention characteristics. The present results have been obtained in the framework of the research of low gravity condensation-flow processes for conditioning cryogenic liquid acquisition devices. The following system is studied: On the top of a subcooled horizontal disk, a liquid film condenses from the ambient saturated vapor. The liquid is forcedly removed at the disk edge, and there is an outward radial flow of the film. Stationary regimes of the flow are uncovered such that (i) the gravity is negligible, being eclipsed by the capillary forces; (ii) the film thickness is everywhere much smaller than the disk radius; and (iii) the slow-flow lubrication approximation is valid. A nonlinear differential equation for the film thickness as a function of the radial coordinate is obtained. The (two-dimensional) fields of velocities, temperature and pressure in the film are explicitly determined by the radial profile of its thickness. The equilibrium is controlled by two parameters: (i) the vapor-disk difference of temperatures and (ii) the liquid exhaust rate. For the flow regimes with a nearly uniform film thickness, the governing equation linearizes, and the film interface is analytically predicted to have a concave-up quartic parabola profile. Thus, perhaps counter-intuitively, the liquid film is thicker at the edge and thinner at the center of the disk.
We present the results of a finite difference implementation of the kinetic Fokker-Planck model with an exact form of the nonlinear collisional operator, The model is time dependent and three-dimensional; one spatial dimension and two in velocity space. The spatial dimension is aligned with the local magnetic field, and the velocity space is defined by the magnitude of the velocity and the cosine of pitch angle. An important new feature of model, the concept of integration along the particle trajectories, is discussed in detail. Integration along the trajectories combined with the operator time splitting technique results in a solution scheme which accurately accounts for both the fast convection of the particles along the magnetic field lines and relatively slow collisional process. We present several tests of the model's performance and also discuss simulation results of the evolution of the plasma distribution for realistic conditions in Earth's plasmasphere under different scenarios.
The spins of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) and the power outputs of their jets are measurable quantities. Unfortunately, the currently employed methods do not agree and the results are controversial. Two major issues concern the measurements of BH spin and beam (jet) power. The former issue can be resolved by future observations. But the latter issue can be resolved now, if we pay attention to what is expected from theoretical considerations. The question of whether a correlation has been found between the power outputs of few objects and the spins of their BHs is moot because BH beam power does not scale with the square of the spin of the BH. We show that the theoretical BH beam power is a strongly nonlinear function of spin that cannot be approximated by a quadratic relation, as is generally stated when the influence of the magnetic field is not accounted for in the Blandford & Znajek model. The BH beam power of ballistic jets should scale a lot more steeply with BH spin irrespective of the magnetic field assumed to thread the horizon and the spin range considered. This behavior may already be visible in the analyses of radio observations by Narayan & McClintock and Russell et al. In agreement with previous studies, we also find that the power output that originates in the inner regions of the surrounding accretion disks is higher than that from the BHs and it cannot be ignored in investigations of continuous compact jets from these systems.
No abstract available
The physical mechanism driving mass ejection during a nova eruption is still poorly understood. Possibilities include ejection in a single ballistic event, a common-envelope interaction, a continuous wind, or some combination of these processes. Here, we present a study of 12 Galactic novae, for which we have premaximum high-resolution spectroscopy. All 12 novae show the same spectral evolution. Before optical peak, they show a slow P Cygni component. After peak, a fast component quickly arises, while the slow absorption remains superimposed on top of it, implying the presence of at least two physically distinct flows. For novae with high-cadence monitoring, a third, intermediate-velocity component is also observed. These observations are consistent with a scenario where the slow component is associated with the initial ejection of the accreted material and the fast component with a radiation-driven wind from the white dwarf. When these flows interact, the slow flow is swept up by the fast flow, producing the intermediate component. These colliding flows may produce theγ-ray emission observed in some novae. Our spectra also show that the transient heavy-element absorption lines seen in some novae have the same velocity structure and evolution as the other lines in the spectrum, implying an association with the nova ejecta rather than a preexisting circumbinary reservoir of gas or material ablated from the secondary. While this basic scenario appears to qualitatively reproduce multiwavelength observations of classical novae, substantial theoretical and observational work is still needed to untangle the rich diversity of nova properties.
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