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Planting some tree species may worsen, not improve, NYC air, says new study

Phys.org: Earth science - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 14:08
In line with longstanding initiatives to expand its green spaces, New York City is planting tens of thousands of trees each year. They provide shade, lower surface temperatures by releasing moisture, absorb a surprising amount of airborne carbon, scrub out soot and other floating pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat along with just plain beauty. What could go wrong?

Mapping the invisible: How sub-daily GPS sheds light on early postseismic deformation

Phys.org: Earth science - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 13:00
The aftermath of an earthquake is marked by intricate postseismic adjustments, particularly the elusive early afterslip. Daily seismic monitoring has struggled to capture the rapid and complex ground movements occurring in the critical hours post-quake.

Detecting nitrogen dioxide from power plants with Sentinel-2

Phys.org: Earth science - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 12:20
Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide is a harmful pollutant with significant impacts on air quality, climate and the biosphere. Although satellites have mapped nitrogen dioxide concentrations since the 1990s, their resolution was generally too coarse to pinpoint individual sources like power plants.

Investigation on Chasing and Interaction of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Based on Multi‐Instrument

JGR:Space physics - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 11:54
Abstract

In this study, we use multi-instrument observations (all-sky imager (ASI), global navigation satellite system (GPS) receivers, digisonde) to study the interaction of nighttime medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) on 13 November 2018. The most attractive aspect of this event is that the interaction appeared between two dark bands both propagated southwestward. The airglow observations show that the latter band moved faster and caught up with the former, and these two bands merged into a new one. The propagating characteristics and morphology of the MSTIDs changed during the interaction process. The simulations from the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) suggested that the ionospheric background zonal winds and electron density distributions could play essential roles in the interaction of the MSTIDs. Moreover, the merging process might be associated with the electrostatic reconnection.

Quantifying the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Radiation Belt Electrons Scattered by Lower Band Chorus Waves: An Integrated Model

Space Weather - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 10:50
Abstract

Wave particle interactions are very important to understand the intricate evolution of the Earth's radiation belt electrons. Kinetic simulations, in terms of solving the Fokker-Planck equation based on the quasilinear theory, are usually used to simulate the radiation belt electron dynamic evolution. However, the global wave and plasma density distributions adopted in the kinetic simulations are very difficult to be directly obtained by satellites. Here we present a new model, by integrating the machine learning technique and kinetic simulations, to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of radiation belt electrons scattered by lower band chorus (LBC). Compared to the observations, our integrated model produces effectively the global distribution of plasmapause location, plasma density, and LBC intensity, and assesses quantitatively the scattering effect driven by LBC waves at different magnetic local times (MLT), L-shell (the Mcllwain L-parameter), and time. Incorporating the effect of radiation electron drift, we further use the 2-D Fokker-Planck equation to simulate the variations of electron phase space density in different MLT sectors at a fixed L, and find that the integrated model replicates reasonably the multi-MeV electron acceleration at L = 4.5 during the period from the main phase to the early recovery phase of the storm. Our results demonstrate that such an integrated model, on basis of a combination of the machine learning technique and kinetic simulations, provides valuable means for improved understanding of the global dynamic evolution of the Earth's radiation belt electrons.

Long-term changes in the dependence of NmF2 on solar flux at Juliusruh

Long-term changes in the dependence of NmF2 on solar flux at Juliusruh
Maria Gloria Tan Jun Rios, Claudia Borries, Huixin Liu, and Jens Mielich
Ann. Geophys. Discuss., https//doi.org/10.5194/angeo-2024-11,2024
Preprint under review for ANGEO (discussion: open, 3 comments)
The study analyzes hourly NmF2 data from Juliusruh (1957 to 2023) and examines the response of NmF2 to solar flux by using three different solar EUV proxies for six solar cycles, including a separation of the ascending and descending phases. The response is better represented with a quadratic regression and F30 shows the highest correlation for describing NmF2 dependence over time. These results revealed a steady decrease in NmF2, influenced by the intensity of the solar activity index.
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Three-dimensional solidification modeling of various materials using the lattice Boltzmann method with an explicit enthalpy equation

Physical Review E (Computational physics) - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 10:00

Author(s): Zheng Dai (代铮), Zhongyi Wang (王忠义), Junhao Zhu (朱俊豪), Xiaohu Chen (陈小虎), Qing Li (李庆), and Zongrui Jin (金宗睿)

Based on the mesoscopic scale, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) with an enthalpy-based model represented in the form of distribution functions is widely used in the liquid-solid phase transition process of energy storage materials due to its direct and relatively accurate characterization of the p…


[Phys. Rev. E 110, 025301] Published Mon Aug 05, 2024

Differences in Ionospheric O+ and H+ Outflow During Storms With and Without Sawtooth Oscillations

GRL - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 07:18
Abstract

Previous simulations have suggested that O+ outflow plays a role in driving the sawtooth oscillations. This study investigates the role of O+ by identifying the differences in ionospheric outflow between sawtooth and non-sawtooth storms using 11 years of FAST/Time of flight Energy Angle Mass Spectrograph (TEAMS) ion composition data from 1996 through 2007 during storms driven by coronal mass ejections. We find that the storm's initial phase shows larger O+ outflow during non-sawtooth storms, and the main and recovery phases revealed differences in the location of ionospheric outflow. On the pre-midnight sector, a larger O+ outflow was observed during the main phase of sawtooth storms, while non-sawtooth storms exhibited stronger O+ outflow during the recovery phase. On the dayside, the peak outflow shifts significantly toward dawn during sawtooth storms. This strong dawnside sector outflow during sawtooth storms warrants consideration.

Low Latitude Ionospheric Irregularity Observations Across a Wide Frequency Spectrum From VHF to S‐Band in the Indian Longitudes

Radio Science - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 07:00
Abstract

This study reports coordinated observation of ionospheric irregularities from VHF Radar, GPS and IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), from regions near the northern crest of the EIA (Equatorial Ionization Anomaly), which has not been explored earlier. Efforts have been made to study the signal-in-space environment for concurrent detection of ionospheric irregularities over a range of radio frequency, starting from 53 MHz of the Radar, to L-band of GPS at 1,575.42 MHz and S band signal of IRNSS at 2,492.5 MHz. The radar is operational at Ionosphere Field Station, Haringhata (geographic latitude 22.93°N; geographic longitude 88.51°E; magnetic dip angle 36.2°N) of University of Calcutta. The GPS and IRNSS data are recorded at Calcutta (22.58°N, 88.38°E geographic; magnetic dip: 36°N), separated from Haringhata by 50 km. The spatial as well as temporal variations of irregularities affecting different radio frequencies have been presented. Coordinated observations have been made during period of March–April 2023. Results of the study reveal the common zone of impact of the different radio frequency links spanning from 53 to 2,592.5 MHz and was identified within 16°–25°N, 85°–90°E. During coordinated observations made over several days, irregularity structures have been observed with radar, having backscatter SNR (Signal to Noise ratio) intensity within −5 to 15 dB. During this time, while intense L band scintillation was recorded on multiple satellites of GPS, scintillation recorded at S band signal was moderate to intense.

A Robust Quantitative Method to Distinguish Runoff‐Generated Debris Flows From Floods

GRL - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 06:55
Abstract

Debris flows and floods generated by rainfall runoff occur in rocky mountainous landscapes and burned steeplands. Flow type is commonly identified post-event through interpretation of depositional structures, but these may be poorly preserved or misinterpreted. Prior research indicates that discharge magnitude is commonly amplified in debris flows relative to floods due to volumetric bulking and increased frictional resistance. Here, we use this flow amplification to develop a metric (Q*) to separate debris flows from floods based on the ratio of observed peak discharge to the theoretical maximum water discharge from rainfall runoff. We compile 642 observations of floods and debris flows and demonstrate that Q* distinguishes flow type to ∼92% accuracy. Q* allows for accurate identification of debris flows through simple channel cross-section surveys rather than through qualitative interpretation of deposits, and therefore should increase the performance of models and engineered structures that require accurate flow-type observations.

Unloading Uplift Caused by Surface Processes in New Zealand's Southern Alps

GRL - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 05:38
Abstract

The Southern Alps experiences rapid bedrock uplift and intense surface processes like erosion and deglaciation. We quantify how the erosion and deglaciation contribute to the ongoing vertical motions using geophysical models. The erosional unloading uplift is found to be 0.5–1.5 mm/yr throughout the central Southern Alps, whereas the recent deglaciation may locally produce uplift up to 1–3 mm/yr. The estimated unloading uplift accounts for 10%–40% of the GNSS-observed uplift. After correcting the unloading uplift, the GNSS-observed uplift can be explained by about 4–6 mm/yr dip-slip motion on the Alpine fault, which is 10%–50% below previous geodetic estimates. Hence, unloading uplift must be evaluated when interpreting geodetic observations in tectonically active mountain ranges subjected to intense surface processes.

High‐Frequency Isotope Compositions Reveal Different Cloud‐Top and Vertical Stratiform Rainfall Structures in the Inland Tropics of Brazil

GRL - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 05:29
Abstract

Understanding the key drivers controlling rainfall stable isotope variations in inland tropical regions remains a global challenge. We present novel high-frequency isotope data (5–30 min intervals) to disentangle the evolution of six stratiform rainfall events (N = 112) during the passage of convective systems in inland Brazil (September 2019–June 2020). These systems produced stratiform rainfall of variable cloud features. Depleted stratiform events (δ18Oinitial ≤ −4.2‰ and δ18Omean ≤ −6.1‰) were characterized by cooler cloud-top temperatures (≤−38°C), larger areas (≥48 km2), higher liquid-ice ratios (≥3.1), and higher melting layer heights (≥3.8 km), compared to enriched stratiform events (δ18Oinitial ≥ −3.8‰ and δ18Omean ≥ −5.1‰). Cloud vertical structure variability was reflected in a wide range of δ18O temporal patterns and abrupt shifts in d-excess. Our findings provide a new perspective to the ongoing debate about isotopic variability and the partitioning of rainfall types across the tropics.

Implementation and assessment of a model including mixotrophs and the carbonate cycle (Eco3M_MIX-CarbOx v1.0) in a highly dynamic Mediterranean coastal environment (Bay of Marseille, France) – Part 2: Towards a better representation of total alkalinity wh

Geoscientific Model Development - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 01:23
Implementation and assessment of a model including mixotrophs and the carbonate cycle (Eco3M_MIX-CarbOx v1.0) in a highly dynamic Mediterranean coastal environment (Bay of Marseille, France) – Part 2: Towards a better representation of total alkalinity when modeling the carbonate system and air–sea CO2 fluxes
Lucille Barré, Frédéric Diaz, Thibaut Wagener, Camille Mazoyer, Christophe Yohia, and Christel Pinazo
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5851–5882, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5851-2024, 2024
The carbonate system is typically studied using measurements, but modeling can contribute valuable insights. Using a biogeochemical model, we propose a new representation of total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, pCO2, and pH in a highly dynamic Mediterranean coastal area, the Bay of Marseille, a useful addition to measurements. Through a detailed analysis of pCO2 and air–sea CO2 fluxes, we show that variations are strongly impacted by the hydrodynamic processes that affect the bay.

Updating the radiation infrastructure in MESSy (based on MESSy version 2.55)

Geoscientific Model Development - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 01:23
Updating the radiation infrastructure in MESSy (based on MESSy version 2.55)
Matthias Nützel, Laura Stecher, Patrick Jöckel, Franziska Winterstein, Martin Dameris, Michael Ponater, Phoebe Graf, and Markus Kunze
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5821–5849, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5821-2024, 2024
We extended the infrastructure of our modelling system to enable the use of an additional radiation scheme. After calibrating the model setups to the old and the new radiation scheme, we find that the simulation with the new scheme shows considerable improvements, e.g. concerning the cold-point temperature and stratospheric water vapour. Furthermore, perturbations of radiative fluxes associated with greenhouse gas changes, e.g. of methane, tend to be improved when the new scheme is employed.

“Pochva”: a new hydro-thermal process model in soil, snow, vegetation for application in atmosphere numerical models

Geoscientific Model Development - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 01:23
“Pochva”: a new hydro-thermal process model in soil, snow, vegetation for application in atmosphere numerical models
Oxana Drofa
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https//doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-138,2024
Preprint under review for GMD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
This paper presents the result of many years of efforts of the author, who developed an original mathematical numerical model of heat and moisture exchange processes in soil, vegetation, snow. The author relied on her 30 years of research experience in atmospheric numerical modelling. The presented model is the fruit of research on physical processes at the surface-atmosphere interface and their numerical approximation and aims at improving numerical weather forecasting and climate simulations.

A computational efficient approach for multi-GNSS real-time precise clock estimation with undifferenced ambiguity resolution

Journal of Geodesy - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 00:00
Abstract

To support real-time global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) precise applications, satellite clock corrections need to be precisely estimated at a high-rate update interval, which remains a challenge due to the rapid development of multi-GNSS constellations. In this study, we developed an undifferenced (UD) ambiguity resolution (AR) procedure to improve both the accuracy and computational efficiency for real-time multi-GNSS clock estimation realized by a square root information filter. In the proposed method, UD ambiguities are resolved after correcting the simultaneously estimated uncalibrated phase delays (UPD) and the fixed UD ambiguity parameters are eliminated immediately from the filter, so that the computational burden is significantly reduced. Moreover, based on the linear relationship between double-differenced (DD) and UD ambiguities, we investigated the difference between DD and UD AR in clock estimation. We found that the major reason why DD AR contributes little to the clock estimation while UD AR can speed up the convergence remarkably is that UD AR additionally provides a stable clock datum compared with DD AR. GNSS observations from about 100 globally distributed stations were processed with the proposed method to generate simulated real-time clocks and UPDs for GPS, Galileo, and BDS satellites over a one-month period. The results show that the percentage of wide-lane (WL) UPD residuals within  ± 0.25 cycles and narrow-lane (NL) UPD residuals within  ± 0.15 cycles are over 97.0% and 90.0%, respectively, which contributes to an ambiguity fixing rate of more than 90% for three systems. The mean daily standard deviation (STD) of the clocks of the UD-fixed solution with respect to Center for Orbit Determination in Europe 30 s final products is 0.021, 0.020, and 0.035 ns for GPS, Galileo, and BDS satellite, respectively, which is improved by 78.1%, 58.3%, and 79.8% compared to the float solution. Benefiting from the removal of fixed ambiguities, the average computation time per epoch was reduced from 3.88 to 1.05 s with a remarkable improvement of 72.9%. The quality of the satellite clock and UPD products was also evaluated by the performance of kinematic precise point positioning (PPP). The results show that fast and reliable multi-GNSS PPP-AR can be achieved with the derived UD-fixed clocks and UPDs, which outperforms that using DD-fixed clock and off-line UPD products with an average improvement of 7.9% and 19.9% in terms of convergence time and positioning accuracy, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed UD AR method through a 7-day real-time clock estimation experiment.

Evidence for subsea permafrost in subarctic Canada linked to submarine groundwater discharge

Nature Geoscience - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 05 August 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01497-z

Observations from the Labrador Coast indicate the presence of subsea permafrost landforms outside of the Arctic, suggesting a potential underestimation of subsea permafrost in the world’s oceans.

GLAD-M35: A joint P and S global tomographic model with uncertainty quantification

Geophysical Journal International - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 00:00
SummaryWe present our third and final generation joint P and S global adjoint tomography (GLAD) model, GLAD-M35, and quantify its uncertainty based on a low-rank approximation of the inverse Hessian. Starting from our second-generation model, GLAD-M25, we added 680 new earthquakes to the database for a total of 2,160 events. New P-wave categories are included to compensate for the imbalance between P- and S-wave measurements, and we enhanced the window selection algorithm to include more major-arc phases, providing better constraints on the structure of the deep mantle and more than doubling the number of measurement windows to 40 million. Two stages of a Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) quasi-Newton inversion were performed, each comprising five iterations. With this BFGS update history, we determine the model’s standard deviation and resolution length through randomized singular value decomposition.

Structure of the crust and upper mantle in Greenland and northeastern Canada: Insights from anisotropic rayleigh-wave tomography

Geophysical Journal International - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 00:00
SummarySeismic velocity models provide important constraints on Greenland’s deep structure, which, in turn, has profound implications for our understanding of the tectonic history of this region. However, the resolution of seismic models has been limited by a sparse network, particularly in northern and central Greenland. We address these limitations by generating new high-resolution Rayleigh-wave phase velocity maps encompassing Greenland and northeastern Canada by processing over three decades of teleseismic earthquake records and incorporating recently added stations in Greenland and Arctic Canada. These phase velocity maps are sensitive to structure from the lower crust down to the sub-lithospheric mantle (25-185 s period). We find significant heterogeneity and a strong correlation between isotropic and anisotropic seismic velocities with inferred geological structure.High seismic velocities associated with cratonic lithosphere are broadly divided into two regions, with a belt of reduced velocity spanning central Greenland, which we interpret as lithospheric erosion resulting from interaction between the Greenland continental keel and the Iceland plume. Within each region, we identify tectonic subdivisions that suggest fundamental differences between the blocks that make up Precambrian Greenland. In the south, the North Atlantic craton (NAC) has a high-velocity keel exhibiting anisotropic stratification. Between the NAC and the cratonic lithosphere further north, the Proterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogenic belt shows a distinct signature of reduced seismic velocity to ∼75 s period, but then appears to pinch out at depth. The northern Greenland lithosphere exhibits significant isotropic heterogeneity, with a distinct core of high velocities in the northwest (∼55-75 s period) giving way to a set of distinct east-west trending high-velocity belts at longer periods. At all periods sensitive to the lithospheric mantle in this region, anisotropic fast orientations are E-W, consistent with a north-south Precambrian assembly of the Greenland shield. In contrast to the NAC, there is no evidence of anisotropic stratification in the northern part of the cratonic keel.Based on both isotropic and anisotropic phase-velocity anomalies, we suggest that the Phanerozoic Caledonian and Ellesmerian-Franklinian fold belts are relatively thin-skinned features onshore Greenland, though the Caledonian belt may have a stronger signature off the east coast. At the longest periods, a prominent low-velocity anomaly initially centred on Iceland migrates northwards and spreads beneath central-eastern Greenland. Coupled with NW-SE trending anisotropy, this feature is interpreted as the effect of mantle flow radiating outward from the Iceland plume and interacting with the eroded Greenland lithosphere.

Experimental study on the rupture behaviors of orthogonal faults: effects of stress state and rupture initiation location

Geophysical Journal International - Mon, 08/05/2024 - 00:00
SummaryFault rupture dynamics is expected to be significantly affected by the geometry of fault system, especially for orthogonal faults. However, the rupture behaviors of orthogonal faults especially the coseismic interactions are far from fully understood. Here, we present experimental results from a series of laboratory earthquakes to elucidate the effect of the stress state and initiation location on the rupture behaviors of orthogonal faults. Our results reveal a phase diagram of rupture behaviors of orthogonal faults, which is collectively controlled by stress state and rupture initiation location. For events initiating from the main fault, the rupture cannot jump to the branch, which may be due to the clamping effect or the inhibited shear stress accumulation on the branch. On the contrary, events initiating from the branch can persistently trigger ruptures of the main fault. This difference highlights the directional effect associated with the rupture of orthogonal faults. Further, the rupture length of triggered ruptures on the main fault is controlled by the stress state of the fault system. With the increase of the ratio between the shear stress and normal stress, the rupture length of the main fault increases. Our results reproduce the rupture behaviors of orthogonal faults, which may provide insights into the rupture characteristics of natural earthquakes.

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