ALBERT

Description: The radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of charged particles has been a challenging task in laser-driven proton/ion acceleration due to its stringent requirements in laser and target conditions. The realization of radiation-pressure-driven proton acceleration requires irradiating ultrathin targets with an ultrahigh contrast and ultraintense laser pulses. We report the generation of 93-MeV proton beams achieved by applying 800-nm 30-fs circularly polarized laser pulses with an intensity of 6.1 × 10 20   W / cm 2 to 15-nm-thick polymer targets. The radiation pressure acceleration was confirmed from the obtained optimal target thickness, quadratic energy scaling, polarization dependence, and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We expect this clear demonstration of RPA to facilitate the realization of laser-driven proton/ion sources delivering energetic and short-pulse particle beams for novel applications.

Description: Sub-grid information from land models has the potential to be a powerful tool for investigating land-atmosphere interactions, but relatively few studies have attempted to exploit sub-grid output. In this study, we modify the configuration of the Community Land Model version CLM4.5 so that each plant functional type (PFT) is assigned its own soil column. We compare sub-grid and grid cell-averaged air temperature and surface energy fluxes from this modified case (PFTCOL) to a case with the default configuration—a shared soil column for all PFTs (CTRL), and examine the difference in simulated surface air temperature between grass and tree PFTs within the same grid cells (ΔT GT ). The magnitude and spatial patterns of ΔT GT from PFTCOL agree more closely with observations, ranging from -1.5 K in boreal regions to +0.6 K in the tropics. We find that the column configuration has a large effect on PFT-level energy fluxes. In the CTRL configuration, the PFT-level annual mean ground heat flux (G) differs substantially from zero. For example, at a typical tropical grid cell, the annual G is 31.8 Wm -2 for the tree PFTs and -14.7 Wm -2 for grass PFTs. In PFTCOL, G is always close to zero. These results suggest that care must be taken when assessing local land cover change impacts with sub-grid information. For models with PFTs on separate columns, it may be possible to isolate the differences in land surface fluxes between vegetation types that would be associated with land cover change from other climate forcings and feedbacks in climate model simulations.

Description: Like many subduction zone earthquakes, the deadliest aspects of the 1964  M  = 9.2 Alaska earthquake were the tsunamis it caused. The worst of these were generated by local submarine landslides induced by the earthquake. These caused high runups, engulfing several coastal towns in Prince William Sound. In this paper, we study one of these cases in detail, the Port Valdez submarine landslide and tsunami. We combine eyewitness reports, preserved film, and careful post tsunami surveys with new geophysical data to inform numerical models for landslide tsunami generation. We review the series of events as recorded at Valdez old town, and then determine the corresponding subsurface events that led to the tsunami. We build Digital Elevation Models of part of the pre- and post-tsunami fjord head delta. Comparing them reveals a ~1500 m long region that receded 150 m to the east, which we interpret as the primary delta landslide source. Multibeam imagery and high-resolution seismic reflection data identify a ~400-m-wide chute with hummocky deposits at its terminus, which may define the primary slide path. Using these elements we run hydrodynamic models of the landslide-driven tsunamis that match observations of current-direction, maximum inundation, and wave height at Valdez old town. We speculate that failure conditions at the delta front may have been influenced by manmade changes in drainage patterns as well as the fast retreat of Valdez, and other glaciers during the past century.

Description: Oblique Hanle effect (OHE) with magnetic field applied at an oblique angle θ (0 ≤ θ ≤ 180°) was systematically investigated using the 3-terminal (3T) geometry with CoFe/SiO 2 /Si tunnel contacts. Clear Hanle-like signals with asymmetric voltage dependence are obtained for all angles. It is found that the asymptotic value of the OHE uniquely depends on the angle θ and its angular variation can be fitted well with both functions of cos 2 θ and 1 1 − α γ 2   cos 2 θ as predicted from spin injection and impurity-assisted magnetoresistance models, respectively. In addition, no Hanle signal is observed in tunnel junctions with spin-unpolarized CoFe/Ta/SiO 2 /Si structure, which is also understandable by both models. The experimental data in this study demonstrate clearly that further study should be still done to uncover the underlying physics of the Hanle-like signal in 3T tunnel contacts.

Description: The fungal pathogen, Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii , causing Swiss needle cast (SNC) occurs wherever Douglas-fir is found but disease damage is believed to be limited in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) to the Coast Range of Oregon and Washington (Hansen et al., Plant Disease , 2000, 84 , 773; Rosso & Hansen, Phytopathology , 2003, 93 , 790; Shaw, et al., Journal of Forestry , 2011, 109 , 109). However, knowledge remains limited on the history and spatial distribution of SNC impacts in the PNW. We reconstructed the history of SNC impacts on mature Douglas-fir trees based on tree-ring width chronologies from western Oregon. Our findings show that SNC impacts on growth occur wherever Douglas-fir is found and is not limited to the coastal fog zone. The spatiotemporal patterns of growth impact from SNC disease were synchronous across the region, displayed periodicities of 12–40 years, and strongly correlated with winter and summer temperatures and summer precipitation. The primary climatic factor limiting pathogen dynamics varied spatially by location, topography, and elevation. SNC impacts were least severe in the first half of the 20th century when climatic conditions during the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (1924–1945) were less conducive to pathogen development. At low- to mid-elevations, SNC impacts were most severe in 1984–1986 following several decades of warmer winters and cooler, wetter summers including a high summer precipitation anomaly in 1983. At high elevations on the west slope of the Cascade Range, SNC impacts peaked several years later and were the greatest in the 1990s, a period of warmer winter temperatures. Climate change is predicted to result in warmer winters and will likely continue to increase SNC severity at higher elevations, north along the coast from northern Oregon to British Columbia, and inland where low winter temperatures currently limit growth of the pathogen. Our findings indicate that SNC may become a significant forest health problem in areas of the PNW beyond the coastal fog zone. There is currently a major foliage disease (Swiss needle cast) epidemic occurring in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW). However, knowledge remains limited on the history and spatial distribution of SNC impacts in the PNW. We reconstructed the history of SNC impacts on mature Douglas-fir trees based on tree-ring width chronologies from western Oregon. Our findings show that SNC impacts on growth occur wherever Douglas-fir is found and is most severe in coastal forests.

Description: Managing recharge of freshwater into saline aquifers requires accurate estimation of the heterogeneous permeability field for maximizing injection and recovery efficiency. Here, we present a methodology for subsurface characterization in saline aquifers that takes advantage of the density difference between the injected freshwater and the ambient saline groundwater. We combine high resolution forward modeling of density-driven flow with an efficient Bayesian geostatistical inversion algorithm. In the presence of a density difference between the injected and ambient fluids due to differences in salinity, the pressure field is coupled to the spatial distribution of salinity. This coupling renders the pressure field transient: the time evolution of the salinity distribution controls the density distribution which then leads to a time-evolving pressure distribution.We exploit this coupling between pressure and salinity to obtain an improved characterization of the permeability field without multiple pumping tests or additional salinity measurements. We show that the inversion performance improves with an increase in the mixed convection ratio–the relative importance between viscous forces from injection and buoyancy forces from density difference. Our work shows that measuring transient pressure data at multiple sampling points during freshwater injection into saline aquifers can be an effective strategy for aquifer characterization, key to the successful management of aquifer recharge.

Description: The perpendicular heating and acceleration of ions by linearly polarized Alfvén wave, which is propagating along constant background magnetic field, is studied. The perpendicular diffusion coefficient of ions is calculated through the autocorrelation function based on linear perturbation theory, which unambiguously demonstrates that ion heating is attained by non-resonant wave-particle interaction. It is found that the perpendicular heating and acceleration of ions occur by the Alfvén wave during a relatively short time interval, i.e., approximately 20 ion gyro period ( Ω i 0 t ) even though the perturbation amplitude is quite low. Also, it is shown that the temperature anisotropy of ions A , where A = T ⊥ / T ∥ − 1 , increases with the increasing perturbation amplitude while the parallel ion heating does not occur. Test particle simulation is also carried out in order to investigate the non-resonant perpendicular heating process.