ALBERT

Description: The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) signatures of a solar lift-off, decametric and kilometric radio burst emissions and energetic particle (EP) inner heliospheric signatures of an interplanetary shock, and in situ identification of its driver through solar wind observations are discussed for 12 isolated halo coronal mass ejections (H-CMEs) occurring between December 1996 and 1997. For the aforementioned twelve and the one event added in the discussion, it is found that ten passed several necessary conditions for being a "Sun-Earth connection". It is found that low corona EUV and Ha chromospheric signatures indicate filament eruption as the cause of H-CME. These signatures indicate that the 12 events can be divided into two major subsets, 7 related to active regions (ARs) and 5 unrelated or related to decayed AR. In the case of events related to AR, there is indication of a faster lift-off, while a more gradual lift-off appears to characterize the second set. Inner heliospheric signatures – the presence of long lasting enhanced energetic particle flux and/or kilometric type II radio bursts – of a driven shock were identified in half of the 12 events. The in situ (1 AU) analyses using five different solar wind ejecta signatures and comparisons with the bidirectional flow of suprathermal particles and Forbush decreases result in indications of a strong solar wind ejecta signatures for 11 out of 12 cases. From the discussion of these results, combined with work by other authors for overlapping events, we conclude that good Sun-Earth connection candidates originate most likely from solar filament eruptions with at least one of its extremities located closer to the central meridian than ~ 30° E or ~ 35° W with a larger extension in latitudinal location possible. In seven of the twelve cases it appears that the encountered ejecta was driving a shock at 1 AU. Support for this interpretation is found on the approximately equal velocity of the shock and the ejecta leading-edge. These shocks were weak to moderate in strength, and a comparison of their transit time with their local speed indicated a deceleration. In contradistinction with this result on shocks, the transit time versus the local speed of the ejecta appeared either to indicate that the ejecta as a whole traveled at constant speed or underwent a small amount of acceleration. This is a result that stands for cases with and without fast stream observations at their rear end. Seven out of twelve ejecta candidate intervals were themselves interplanetary magnetic cloud (IMC) or contained a previously identified IMC. As a by-product of this study, we noticed two good ejecta candidates at 1 AU for which observation of a H-CME or CME appears to be missing.Key words. Radio science (remote sensing); Solar physics, astrophysics and astronomy (flares and mass ejections); Space plasma physics (nonlinear phenomena)

Description: The mesospheric and lower thermospheric (MLT) winds (60–100 km) obtained by multiple MF radars, located from the arctic to equator at Tromsø (70° N, 19° E), Saskatoon (52° N, 107° W), London (43° N, 81° W), Hawaii (21° N, 157° W) and Christmas Island (2° N, 157° W), respectively, are used to study the planetary-scale 16-day waves. Based on the simultaneous observations (1993/1994), the variabilities of the wave amplitudes, periods and phases are derived. At mid- and high-latitude locations the 16-day waves are usually pervasive in the winter-centred seasons (October through March), with the amplitude gradually decreasing with height. From the subtropical location to the equator, the summer wave activities become strong at some particular altitude where the inter-hemisphere wave ducts possibly allow for the leakage of the wave from the other hemispheric winter. The observational results are in good agreement with the theoretical conclusion that, for slowly westward-traveling waves, such as the 16-day wave, vertical propagation is permitted only in an eastward background flow of moderate speed which is present in the winter hemisphere. The wave period also varies with height and time in a range of about 12–24 days. The wave latitudinal differences and the vertical structures are compared with the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM) for the winter situation. Although their amplitude variations and profiles have a similar tendency, the discrepancies are considerable. For example, the maximum zonal amplitude occurs around 40° N for radar but 30° N for the model. The phase differences between sites due to the latitudinal effect are basically consistent with the model prediction of equatorward phase-propagation. The global 16-day waves at 95 km from the HRDI wind measurements during 1992 through 1995 are also displayed. Again, the wave is a winter dominant phenomenon with strong amplitude around the 40–60° latitude-band on both hemispheres.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics – waves and tides – middle atmosphere dynamics – thermospheric dynamics

Description: We consider the role that the lower-hybrid wave turbulence plays in providing the necessary resistivity at collisionless reconnection sights. The mechanism for generating the waves is considered to be the lower-hybrid drift instability. We find that the level of the wave amplitude is sufficient enough to heat and accelerate both electrons and ions.

Description: The effect of community structure on the functioning of the ecosystem is an important issue in ecology due to continuing global species loss. The influence of infaunal community structure on the functioning of marine systems is proposed here to act primarily through bioturbation of the sediment. Nutrient concentration in the water column, generated by release from the sediment, was used as a measure of ecosystem functioning. In situ and laboratory experiments showed a significant difference in nutrient concentrations with different species treatments. Bioturbation profiles showing the incorporation of tracer particles also differed between communities with different dominant species. The behavioural differences between infaunal species, generating different modes and rates of bioturbation, are therefore proposed to influence nutrient release. The presence and quantity of bioturbating infauna also influenced the amount of sediment suspended in the water column. The increase in surface area available for microbial activity may generate an increase in nutrient cycling. Abiotic influences on sediment structure, such as flow, may have a similar effect on nutrient concentration. Annular flumes used in both laboratory and in situ experiments to generate flow conditions produced a significant increase in ammonia (NH4-N) production in macrofaunal treatments. Flow may influence the behaviour of macrofaunal species, causing changes in NH4-N production through modifying bioturbation of the sediment. Keywords: bioturbation, community structure, ccosystem functioning, estuaries, flow, infauna

Description: We use plasma wave and electron data from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) to investigate the viability of a local stochastic electron acceleration mechanism to relativistic energies driven by gyroresonant interactions with whistler mode chorus. In particular, we examine the temporal evolution of the spectral response of the electrons and the waves during the 9 October 1990 geomagnetic storm. The observed hardening of the electron energy spectra over about 3 days in the recovery phase is coincident with prolonged substorm activity, as monitored by the AE index and enhanced levels of whistler mode chorus waves. The observed spectral hardening is observed to take place over a range of energies appropriate to the resonant energies associated with Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance, as supported by the construction of realistic resonance curves and resonant diffusion surfaces. Furthermore, we show that the observed spectral hardening is not consistent with energy-independent radial diffusion models. These results provide strong circumstantial evidence for a local stochastic acceleration mechanism, involving the energisation of a seed population of electrons with energies of the order of a few hundred keV to relativistic energies, driven by wave-particle interactions involving whistler mode chorus. The results suggest that this mechanism contributes to the reformation of the relativistic outer zone population during geomagnetic storms, and is most effective when the recovery phase is characterised by prolonged substorm activity. An additional significant result of this paper is that we demonstrate that the lower energy part of the storm-time electron distribution is in steady-state balance, in accordance with the Kennel and Petschek (1966) theory of limited stably-trapped particle fluxes.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms, energetic particles, trapped) – Space plasma physics (wave-particle interactions)

Description: Several factors are known to control the HF echo occurrence rate, including electron density distribution in the ionosphere (affecting the propagation path of the radar wave), D-region radio wave absorption, and ionospheric irregularity intensity. In this study, we consider 4 days of CUTLASS Finland radar observations over an area where the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar has continuously monitored ionospheric parameters. We illustrate that for the event under consideration, the D-region absorption was not the major factor affecting the echo appearance. We show that the electron density distribution and the radar frequency selection were much more significant factors. The electron density magnitude affects the echo occurrence in two different ways. For small F-region densities, a minimum value of 1 × 1011 m-3 is required to have sufficient radio wave refraction so that the orthogonality (with the magnetic field lines) condition is met. For too large densities, radio wave strong "over-refraction" leads to the ionospheric echo disappearance. We estimate that the over-refraction is important for densities greater than 4 × 1011 m-3. We also investigated the backscatter power and the electric field magnitude relationship and found no obvious relationship contrary to the expectation that the gradient-drift plasma instability would lead to stronger irregularity intensity/echo power for larger electric fields.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities; auroral ionosphere)

Description: The Sun was extremely active during the "April Fool’s Day" epoch of 2001. We chose this period between a solar flare on 28 March 2001 to a final shock arrival at Earth on 21 April 2001. The activity consisted of two presumed helmet-streamer blowouts, seven M-class flares, and nine X-class flares, the last of which was behind the west limb. We have been experimenting since February 1997 with real-time, end-to-end forecasting of interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) shock arrival times. Since August 1998, these forecasts have been distributed in real-time by e-mail to a list of interested scientists and operational USAF and NOAA forecasters. They are made using three different solar wind models. We describe here the solar events observed during the April Fool’s 2001 epoch, along with the predicted and actual shock arrival times, and the ex post facto correction to the real-time coronal shock speed observations. It appears that the initial estimates of coronal shock speeds from Type II radio burst observations and coronal mass ejections were too high by as much as 30%. We conclude that a 3-dimensional coronal density model should be developed for application to observations of solar flares and their Type II radio burst observations.Key words. Interplanetary physics (flare and stream dynamics; interplanetary shocks) – Magnetosheric physics (storms and substorms)

Description: When their growth rate becomes too small, the E-region Farley-Buneman and gradient-drift instabilities switch from absolute to convective. The neutral density gradient is what gives the instabilities their convective character. At high latitudes, the orientation of the neutral density gradient is close to the geomagnetic field direction. We show that this causes the wave-vector component along the geomagnetic field to increase with time. This in turn leads to wave stabilization, since the increase goes hand-in-hand with an increase in parallel electric fields that ultimately short-circuits the irregularities. We show that from an equivalent point of view, the increase in the parallel wave vector is accompanied by a large upward group velocity that limits the time during which the perturbations are allowed to grow before escaping the unstable region. The goal of the present work is to develop a systematic formalism to account for the propagation and the growth/decay of high-latitude Farley-Buneman and gradient-drift waves through vertical convective effects. We note that our new formalism shies away from a plane wave decomposition along the magnetic field direction. A study of the solution to the resulting nonlinear aspect angle equation shows that, for a host of initial conditions, jump conditions are often triggered in the parallel wave-vector (defined here as the vertical derivative of the phase). When these jump conditions occur, the waves turn into strongly damped ion-acoustic modes, and their evolution is quickly terminated. We have limited this first study to Farley-Buneman modes and to a flow direction parallel to the electron E × B drift. Our initial findings indicate that, irrespective of whether or not a jump in aspect angle is triggered by initial conditions, the largest amplitude modes are usually near the ion-acoustic speed of the medium (although Doppler shifted by the ion motion), unless the growth rates are small, in which case the waves tend to move at the same drift as the ambient electrons.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities)

Description: Data from the Polar Ionospheric X-ray Imager (PIXIE) and the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) on board the Polar satellite have been used to provide instantaneous global conductance maps. In this study, we focus on an isolated substorm event occurring on 31 July 1997. From the PIXIE and the UVI measurements, the energy spectrum of the precipitating electrons can be derived. By using a model of the upper atmosphere, the resulting conductivity values are generated. We present global maps of how the 5 min time-averaged height-integrated Hall and Pedersen conductivities vary every 15 min during this isolated substorm. The method presented here enables us to study the time development of the conductivities, with a spatial resolution of ~ 700 km. During the substorm, a single region of enhanced Hall conductance is observed. The Hall conductance maximum remains situated between latitudes 64 and 70 corrected geomagnetic (CGM) degrees and moves eastward. The strongest conductances are observed in the pre-midnight sector at the start of the substorm expansion. Toward the end of the substorm expansion and into the recovery phase, we find the Hall conductance maximum in the dawn region. We also observe that the Hall to Pedersen conductance ratio for the regions of maximum Hall conductance is increasing throughout the event, indicating a hardening of the electron spectrum. By combining PIXIE and UVI measurements with an assumed energy distribution, we can cover the whole electron energy range responsible for the conductances. Electrons with energies contributing most to the Pedersen conductance are well covered by UVI while PIXIE captures the high energetic component of the precipitating electrons affecting the Hall conductance. Most statistical conductance models have derived conductivities from electron precipitation data below approximately 30 keV. Since the intensity of the shortest UVI-wavelengths (LBHS) decreases significantly at higher electron energies, the UVI electron energy range is more or less comparable with the energy ranges of the statistical models. By calculating the conductivities from combined PIXIE and UVI measurements to compare with the conductivities from using UVI data only, we observe significant differences in the Hall conductance. The greatest differences are observed in the early evening and the late morning sector. We therefore suggest that the existing statistical models underestimate the Hall conductance.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere, particle precipitation) – Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms)

Description: This study attempts to demonstrate changes in the ionospheric F1-region daytime ionization during geomagnetic storms. The F1-region is explored using available data from several European middle latitude and lower latitude observatories and a set of geomagnetic storms encompassing a range of seasons and solar activity levels. The results of analysis suggest systematic seasonal and partly latitudinal differences in the F1-region response to geomagnetic storm. The pattern of the response of the F1-region at higher middle latitudes, a decrease in electron density, does not depend on the type of response of the F2-region and on solar activity. A brief interpretation of these findings is presented.Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric disturbances; mid-latitude ionosphere)