| 1. |
- Agapitov, Oleksiy, et al.
(författare)
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A statistical study of the propagation characteristics of whistler waves observed by Cluster
- 2011
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 38, s. L20103-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- VLF waves play a crucial role in the dynamics of radiation belts, and are responsible for the loss and the acceleration of energetic electrons. Modeling wave-particle interactions requires the best possible knowledge for how wave energy and wave-normal directions are distributed in L-shells and for the magnetic latitudes of different magnetic activity conditions. In this work, we performed a statistical study for VLF emissions using a whistler frequency range for nine years (2001-2009) of Cluster measurements. We utilized data from the STAFF-SA experiment, which spans the frequency range from 8.8 Hz to 3.56 kHz. We show that the wave energy distribution has two maxima around L similar to 4.5 = 6 and L similar to 2, and that wave-normals are directed approximately along the magnetic field in the vicinity of the geomagnetic equator. The distribution changes with magnetic latitude, and so that at latitudes of similar to 30 degrees, wave-normals become nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field. The observed angular distribution is significantly different from Gaussian and the width of the distribution increases with latitude. Since the resonance condition for wave-particle interactions depends on the wave normal orientation, our results indicate that, due to the observed change in the wave-normal direction with latitude, the most efficient particle diffusion due to wave-particle interaction should occur in a limited region surrounding the geomagnetic equator.
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| 2. |
- André, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Low-energy ions : A previously hidden solar system particle population
- 2012
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 39, s. L03101-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ions with energies less than tens of eV originate from the Terrestrial ionosphere and from several planets and moons in the solar system. The low energy indicates the origin of the plasma but also severely complicates detection of the positive ions onboard sunlit spacecraft at higher altitudes, which often become positively charged to several tens of Volts. We discuss some methods to observe low-energy ions, including a recently developed technique based on the detection of the wake behind a charged spacecraft in a supersonic flow. Recent results from this technique show that low-energy ions typically dominate the density in large regions of the Terrestrial magnetosphere on the nightside and in the polar regions. These ions also often dominate in the dayside magnetosphere, and can change the dynamics of processes like magnetic reconnection. The loss of this low-energy plasma to the solar wind is one of the primary pathways for atmospheric escape from planets in our solar system. We combine several observations to estimate how common low-energy ions are in the Terrestrial magnetosphere and briefly compare with Mars, Venus and Titan.
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| 3. |
- André, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Magnetic reconnection and cold plasma at the magnetopause
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 37:22, s. L22108-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on detailed observations by the four Cluster spacecraft of magnetic reconnection and a Flux Transfer Event (FTE) at the magnetopause. We detect cold (eV) plasma at the magnetopause with two independent methods. We show that the cold ions can be essential for the electric field normal to the current sheet in the separatrix region at the edge of the FTE and for the associated acceleration of ions from the magnetosphere into the reconnection jet. The cold ions have small enough gyroradii to drift inside the limited separatrix region and the normal electric field can be balanced by this drift, E approximate to -v x B. The separatrix region also includes cold accelerated electrons, as part of the reconnection current circuit.
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| 4. |
- Arndt, Jan Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) Version 1.0-A new bathymetric compilation covering circum-Antarctic waters
- 2013
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 40:12, s. 3111-3117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) Version 1.0 is a new digital bathymetric model (DBM) portraying the seafloor of the circum-Antarctic waters south of 60 degrees S. IBCSO is a regional mapping project of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). The IBCSO Version 1.0 DBM has been compiled from all available bathymetric data collectively gathered by more than 30 institutions from 15 countries. These data include multibeam and single-beam echo soundings, digitized depths from nautical charts, regional bathymetric gridded compilations, and predicted bathymetry. Specific gridding techniques were applied to compile the DBM from the bathymetric data of different origin, spatial distribution, resolution, and quality. The IBCSO Version 1.0 DBM has a resolution of 500 x 500 m, based on a polar stereographic projection, and is publicly available together with a digital chart for printing from the project website (www.ibcso.org) and at .
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| 5. |
- Baltar, Federico, et al.
(författare)
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Significance of non-sinking particulate organic carbon and dark CO2 fixation to heterotrophic carbon demand in the mesopelagic Atlantic
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 37, s. L09602-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is generally assumed that sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) constitutes the main source of organic carbon supply to the deep ocean's food webs. However, a major discrepancy between the rates of sinking POC supply (collected with sediment traps) and the prokaryotic organic carbon demand (the total amount of carbon required to sustain the heterotrophic metabolism of the prokaryotes; i.e., production plus respiration, PCD) of deep-water communities has been consistently reported for the dark realm of the global ocean. While the amount of sinking POC flux declines exponentially with depth, the concentration of suspended, buoyant non-sinking POC (nsPOC; obtained with oceanographic bottles) exhibits only small variations with depth in the (sub) tropical Northeast Atlantic. Based on available data for the North Atlantic we show here that the sinking POC flux would contribute only 4-12% of the PCD in the mesopelagic realm (depending on the primary production rate in surface waters). The amount of nsPOC potentially available to heterotrophic prokaryotes in the mesopelagic realm can be partly replenished by dark dissolved inorganic carbon fixation contributing between 12% to 72% to the PCD daily. Taken together, there is evidence that the mesopelagic microheterotrophic biota is more dependent on the nsPOC pool than on the sinking POC supply. Hence, the enigmatic major mismatch between the organic carbon demand of the deep-water heterotrophic microbiota and the POC supply rates might be substantially smaller by including the potentially available nsPOC and its autochthonous production in oceanic carbon cycling models. Citation: Baltar, F., J. Aristegui, E. Sintes, J. M. Gasol, T. Reinthaler, and G. J. Herndl (2010), Significance of non-sinking particulate organic carbon and dark CO2 fixation to heterotrophic carbon demand in the mesopelagic northeast Atlantic.
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| 6. |
- Basu, N. B., et al.
(författare)
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Nutrient loads exported from managed catchments reveal emergent biogeochemical stationarity
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 37:L23404
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complexity of heterogeneous catchments poses challenges in predicting biogeochemical responses to human alterations and stochastic hydro‐climatic drivers. Human interferences and climate change may have contributed to the demise of hydrologic stationarity, but our synthesis of a large body of observational data suggests that anthropogenic impacts have also resulted in the emergence of effective biogeochemical stationarity in managed catchments. Long‐term monitoring data from the Mississippi‐Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) and the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB) reveal that inter‐annual variations in loads (LT) for total‐N (TN) and total‐P (TP), exported from a catchment are dominantly controlled by discharge (QT) leading inevitably to temporal invariance of the annual, flow‐weighted concentration, = (LT/QT). Emergence of this consistent pattern across diverse managed catchments is attributed to the anthropogenic legacy of accumulated nutrient sources generating memory, similar to ubiquitously present sources for geogenic constituents that also exhibit a linear LT‐QT relationship. These responses are characteristic of transport‐limited systems. In contrast, in the absence of legacy sources in less‐managed catchments, values were highly variable and supply limited. We offer a theoretical explanation for the observed patterns at the event scale, and extend it to consider the stochastic nature of rainfall/flow patterns at annual scales. Our analysis suggests that: (1) expected inter‐annual variations in LT can be robustly predicted given discharge variations arising from hydro‐climatic or anthropogenic forcing, and (2) water‐quality problems in receiving inland and coastal waters would persist until the accumulated storages of nutrients have been substantially depleted. The finding has notable implications on catchment management to mitigate adverse water‐quality impacts, and on acceleration of global biogeochemical cycles.
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| 7. |
- Belcher, Stephen E., et al.
(författare)
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A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer
- 2012
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 39, s. L18605-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The turbulent mixing in thin ocean surface boundary layers (OSBL), which occupy the upper 100 m or so of the ocean, control the exchange of heat and trace gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Here we show that current parameterizations of this turbulent mixing lead to systematic and substantial errors in the depth of the OSBL in global climate models, which then leads to biases in sea surface temperature. One reason, we argue, is that current parameterizations are missing key surface-wave processes that force Langmuir turbulence that deepens the OSBL more rapidly than steady wind forcing. Scaling arguments are presented to identify two dimensionless parameters that measure the importance of wave forcing against wind forcing, and against buoyancy forcing. A global perspective on the occurrence of wave-forced turbulence is developed using re-analysis data to compute these parameters globally. The diagnostic study developed here suggests that turbulent energy available for mixing the OSBL is under-estimated without forcing by surface waves. Wave-forcing and hence Langmuir turbulence could be important over wide areas of the ocean and in all seasons in the Southern Ocean. We conclude that surface-wave-forced Langmuir turbulence is an important process in the OSBL that requires parameterization. Citation: Belcher, S. E., et al. (2012), A global perspective on Langmuir turbulence in the ocean surface boundary layer, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L18605, doi: 10.1029/2012GL052932.
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| 8. |
- Boardsen, Scott A., et al.
(författare)
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Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the dusk-side boundary of Mercury's magnetosphere during MESSENGER's third flyby
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the third MESSENGER flyby of Mercury on 29 September 2009, 15 crossings of the dusk-side magnetopause were observed in the magnetic field data over a 2-min period, during which the spacecraft traveled a distance of 0.2 R-M (where R-M is Mercury's radius). The quasi-periodic nature of the magnetic field variations during the crossings, the characteristic time separations of similar to 16 s between pairs of crossings, and the variations of the magnetopause normal directions indicate that the signals are likely the signature of surface waves highly steepened at their leading edge that arose from the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. At Earth, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is believed to lead to the turbulent transport of solar wind plasma into Earth's plasma sheet. This solar wind entry mechanism could also be important at Mercury. Citation: Boardsen, S. A., T. Sundberg, J. A. Slavin, B. J. Anderson, H. Korth, S. C. Solomon, and L. G. Blomberg (2010), Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the dusk-side boundary of Mercury's magnetosphere during MESSENGER's third flyby, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L12101, doi: 10.1029/2010GL043606.
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| 9. |
- Callaghan, Terry V., et al.
(författare)
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A new climate era in the sub-Arctic : Accelerating climate changes and multiple impacts
- 2010
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 37:14, s. L14705-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate warming in the Swedish sub-Arctic since 2000 has reached a level at which statistical analysis shows for the first time that current warming has exceeded that in the late 1930' s and early 1940' s, and has significantly crossed the 0 degrees C mean annual temperature threshold which causes many cryospheric and ecological impacts. The accelerating temperature increase trend has driven similar trends in the century-long increase in snow thickness, loss of lake ice, increases in active layer thickness, lake water TOC (total organic carbon) concentrations and the assemblages of diatoms, and changes in tree-line location and plant community structure. Some of these impacts were not evident in the first warm period of the 20th Century. Changes in climate are associated with reduced temperature variability, particularly loss of cold winters and cool summers, and an increase in extreme precipitation events that cause mountain slope instability and infrastructure failure. The long term records of multiple, local environmental factors compiled here for the first time provide detailed information for adaptation strategy development while dramatic changes in an environment particularly vulnerable to climate change highlight the need to adopt global mitigation strategies.
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| 10. |
- Chen, Hans, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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A robust mode of climate variability in the Arctic: The Barents Oscillation
- 2013
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 40:11, s. 2856-2861
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Barents Oscillation (BO) is an anomalous wintertime atmospheric circulation pattern in the Northern Hemisphere that has been linked to the meridional flow over the Nordic Seas. There are speculations that the BO has important implications for the Arctic climate; however, it has also been suggested that the pattern is an artifact of Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis due to an eastward shift of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation (AO/NAO). In this study, EOF analyses are performed to show that a robust pattern resembling the BO can be found during different time periods, even when the AO/NAO is relatively stationary. This BO has a high and stable temporal correlation with the geostrophic zonal wind over the Barents Sea, while the contribution from the AO/NAO is small. The surface air temperature anomalies over the Barents Sea are closely associated with this mode of climate variability.
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