Solar wind turbulence during the solar cycle deduced from Galileo coronal radio-sounding experiments

Seven coronal radio-sounding campaigns were carried out during the active lifetime of the Galileo spacecraft in the years 1994–2002. The observational data analyzed in the present work are S-band frequency fluctuation measurements recorded during the solar conjunctions at different phases of solar activity cycle #23, specifically: periods near solar maximum (three conjunctions), near solar minimum (three conjunctions) and during the ascending phase (one conjunction). These data are all applicable to low heliographic latitudes, i.e. to the slow solar wind. The rms frequency fluctuation and power-law index of the frequency fluctuation temporal spectra are determined as a function of heliocentric distance. The turbulence power spectrum tends to be flatter inside ca. 20 solar radii during all phases of the solar cycle. This coincides with a transition in the flow from the inner acceleration region to the outer region of constant velocity. The radial falloff rate and absolute level of the rms frequency fluctuation are essentially invariant over the solar cycle.     

Universal scaling laws for fully-developed magnetic field turbulence near and far upstream of the Earth’s bow shock

We analyze the multifractal scaling of the modulus of the interplanetary magnetic field near and far upstream of the Earth’s bow shock, measured by Cluster and ACE, respectively, from 1 to 3 February 2002. The maximum order of the structure function is carefully estimated for each time series using two different techniques, to ensure the validity of our high-order statistics. The first technique consists of plotting the integrand of the pth order structure function, and the second technique is a quantitative method which relies on the power-law scaling of the extreme events. We compare the scaling exponents computed from the structure functions of magnetic field differences with the predictions obtained by the She–Lévêque model of intermittency in anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Our results show a good agreement between the model and the observations near and far upstream of the Earth’s bow shock, rendering support for the modelling of universal scaling laws based on the Kolmogorov phenomenology in the presence of sheet-like dissipative structures.     

The use of microcosms as an experimental approach to understanding terrestrial ecosystem functioning.

Since 1986, a series of microcosm experiments has been conducted at the Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology (UCPE) in an attempt to test our understanding of the principles controlling the structure and dynamics of plant communities and ecosystems. In each experiment microcosms have been seeded with a common pool of organisms, and systems have been allowed to assemble under replicated controlled conditions. Experiment variables have included mineral nutrient supply, temperature, moisture supply, soil depth, carbon dioxide concentration, mycorrhizas, rhizobia, herbivores and carnivores. Results from these experiments are presented to illustrate the value of synthesised ecosystems in ecological research.     

Relative amplitude of the total electron content variations depending on geomagnetic activity

We developed a method of estimation of a relative amplitude dI/I of the total electron content (TEC) variations in the ionosphere as deduced from the data of the global GPS receivers network. To obtain statistically significant results we picked out three latitudinal belts provided in the Internet by the maximum number of GPS sites. They are high-latitudinal belt (50–80°N, 200–300°E; 59 sites), mid latitude belt (20–50°N, 200–300°E; 817 sites), and equatorial belt (±20°N, 0–360°E; 76 sites). The results of the analysis of the diurnal and latitudinal dependencies of dI/I and dI/I distribution probability for 52 days with different levels of geomagnetic activity are presented. It was found that on average the relative amplitude of the TEC variations varies within the range 0–10% proportionally to the value of the K_p geomagnetic index. In quiet conditions the relative amplitude dI/I of the TEC variations at night significantly exceeds the daytime relative amplitude. At high levels of magnetic field disturbances, the geomagnetic control of the amplitude of TEC variations at high and middle latitudes is much more significant than the regular diurnal variations. At the equatorial belt, on average, the amplitude of TEC variations in quiet and disturbed periods almost does not differ. The obtained results may be useful for development of the theory of ionospheric irregularities.     

Induced abnormality in Mir- and Earth grown Super Dwarf wheat.

Super-dwarf wheat grown on the Mir space station using the Svet "Greenhouse" exhibited morphological, metabolic and reproductive abnormalities compared with Earth-grown wheat. Of prominent importance were the abnormalities associated with reproductive ontogeny and the total absence of seed formation on Mir. Changes in the apical meristem associated with transition from the vegetative phase to floral initiation and development of the reproductive spike were all typical of 'Super-Dwarf' wheat up to the point of anthesis. Observation of ruptured anthers from the Mir-grown plants revealed what appeared to be normally developed pollen. These pollen gains, however, contained only one nuclei, while normal viable pollen is tri-nucleate. A potentially important difference in the flight experiment, compared with ground reference studies, was the presence of a high level of atmospheric ethylene (1,200 ppb). Ground studies conducted by exposing 'Super-Dwarf' wheat to ethylene just prior to anthesis resulted in manifestation of the same abnormalities observed in the space flight samples.     

GTD Terrain Reflection Model Applied to ILS Glide Scope

The capability of calculating the reflection of electromagnetic signals from uneven terrain has many applications. One of these is the determination of instrument landing system (ILS) glide slope performance. For this application the wavelength is approximately 1 m, incidence angles are usually near grazing, and the fields are horizontally polarized, so that gross irregularities such as dropoffs and hills are more important than surface roughness. Past approaches used to calculate the ground reflections for this application have been three-dimensional physical optics models which were very cumbersome and time consuming and which neglected important diffraction and shadowing phenomenon; a two-dimensional physical optics model which was faster than the three-dimensional models but ignored many shadowing and transverse terrain variation effects; and a half-plane diffraction model which is applicable only to a specified type of terrain geometry. In this paper a terrain reflection model based on the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) is described which can accommodate any piecewise linear terrain profile, requires less computer time than the physical optics models, is capable of including transverse terrain effects, and determines the reflected fields with all important diffraction and blockage effects included.     

Cross-correlation properties of algebraically constructed Costasarrays

The problem of determining the cross-correlation properties of signals based on algebraically constructed Costas arrays is addressed by examining the discrete cross-correlation of the algebraically constructed Costas arrays for a given construction and dimension. Finding two arrays that minimally correlate implies that the signals based on these arrays also minimally correlate. The properties of finite fields are reviewed, and the major algebraic constructions for Costas arrays are presented, i.e. the Welch construction and the Golomb construction. The discrete cross-correlation properties of the Costas arrays are derived for arrays of the same dimension derived from the same construction. The use of Costas arrays in the signal design problem is discussed, and examples are given to show the cross-correlation of the signals based on the algebraically constructed arrays     

Magnetic turbulence at the magnetopause, a key problem for understanding the solar wind/ magnetosphere exchanges

According to ideal MHD, the magnetopause boundary should split the terrestrial environment in two disconnected domains: outside, the solar wind (including its shocked part, the magnetosheath), and inside, the magnetosphere. This view is at variance with the experimental data, which show that the magnetopause is not tight and that a net transfer of matter exists from the solar wind to the magnetosphere; it implies that the frozen-in condition must break down on the magnetopause, either over the whole boundary or at some points. In the absence of ordinary collisions, only short scale phenomena (temporal and/or spatial) can be invoked to explain this breakdown, and the best candidates in this respect appear to be the ULF magnetic fluctuations which show very strong amplitudes in the vicinity of the magnetopause boundary. It has been shown that these fluctuations are likely to originate in the magnetosheath, probably downstream of the quasi-parallel shock region, and that they can get amplified by a propagation effect when crossing the magnetopause. When studying the propagation across the magnetopause boundary, several effects are to be taken into account simultaneously to get reliable results: the magnetopause density gradient, the temperature effects, and the magnetic field rotation can be introduced while remaining in the framework of ideal MHD. In these conditions, the magnetopause amplification has been interpreted in term of Alfvén and slow resonances occurring in the layer. When, in addition, one takes the ion inertia effects into account, by the way of the Hall-MHD equations, the result appears drastically different: no resonance occurs, but a strong Alfvén wave can be trapped in the boundary between the point where it is converted from the incident wave and the point where it stops propagating back, i.e., the point where k _\|=0, which can exist thanks to the magnetic field rotation. This effect can bring about a new interpretation to the magnetopause transfers, since the Hall effect can allow reconnection near this particular point. The plasma transfer through the magnetopause could then be interpreted in terms of a reconnection mechanism directly driven by the magnetosheath turbulence, which is permanent, rather than due to any local instability of the boundary, for instance of the tearing type, which should be subject to an instability threshold and thus, as far as it exists, more sporadic.     

The magnetotail and substorms

The tail plays a very active and important role in substorms. Magnetic flux eroded from the dayside magnetosphere is stored here. As more and more flux is transported to the magnetotail and stored, the boundary of the tail flares more, the field strength in the tail increases, and the currents strengthen and move closer to the Earth. Further, the plasma sheet thins and the magnetic flux crossing the neutral sheet lessens. At the onset of the expansion phase, the stored magnetic flux is returned from the tail and energy is deposited in the magnetosphere and ionosphere. During the expansion phase of isolated substorms, the flaring angle and the lobe field strength decrease, the plasma sheet thickens and more magnetic flux crosses the neutral sheet.In this review, we discuss the experimental evidence for these processes and present a phenomenological or qualitative model of the substorm sequence. In this model, the flux transport is driven by the merging of the magnetospheric and interplanetary magnetic fields. During the growth phase of substorms the merging rate on the dayside magnetosphere exceeds the reconnection rate in the neutral sheet. In order to remove the oversupply of magnetic flux in the tail, a neutral point forms in the near earth portion of the tail. If the new reconnection rate exceeds the dayside merging rate, then an isolated substorm results. However, a situation can occur in which dayside merging and tail reconnection are in equilibrium. The observed polar cap electric field and its correlation with the interplanetary magnetic field is found to be in accord with open magnetospheric models.