Latitudinal dependence of helio/geophysical effects on the solar radiation input to the lower atmosphere

The relationships between the solar radiation input to the lower atmosphere at higher and middle latitudes and different phenomena related to solar activity have been studied at the network of actinometric stations of Russia. It was shown that the effects of galactic cosmic ray variations and solar flares on the half-yearly sums of global radiation strongly depend on latitude, with a negative correlation being observed in the high-latitudinal belt and a positive one at lower latitudes. The change of the correlation sign was found to take place at the latitude ∼57°. Auroral phenomena are likely to affect the radiation fluxes only in the high-latitude (auroral) region. The effects observed seem to be due to the latitudinal dependence of cloud cover variations associated with the helio/geophysical phenomena under study.     

不同太阳活动及地磁条件下的电导率分布变化

电离层电导率在不同的太阳活动和地磁条件下会发生变化. 本文通过中性大气经验模式NRLMSISE_00（Neutral Atmosphere Empirical Model_2000,简称NRLMSISE_00）和电离层经验模式IRI_2001（International Reference Ionosphere_2001,简称IRI_2001）计算电离层的电子、离子碰撞频率以及电导率,并简要讨论了120 km和300 km高度上的电导率在不同季节、不同太阳活动和地磁指数下的经纬分布. 结果显示,电导率的分布与日照密切相关,且随太阳活动的变化而变化. 磁暴时电导率随地磁活动的变化相对于随太阳活动的变化要小,在120?km高度,磁暴期间电导率在低纬地区和高纬地区发生不同变化,且Pedersen电导率和Hall电导率变化趋势相反,向两极靠近,电导率变化幅度略有增长;在300?km高度上,磁暴对低纬地区和高纬地区电导率的影响要比120?km处大,Pedersen电导率和Hall电导率变化趋势相同,且越向两极靠近电导率的变化幅度越大.     

Scattering of solar radiation by aerosol particulates in the atmosphere: a theoretical approach validated with Pre-INDOEX

A theoretical model based on some physical assumptions has been integrated to study the scattering of solar radiation by aerosol particulates of any size present in the atmosphere. Using this model, which incorporates multiple scattering, scattered fluxes of radiation with varying optical depths and also the optical depth versus wavelengths are computed. The present results are found to be in close agreement with the observations of the Pre-Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) 1996. This provides evidence of the direct effect of aerosol particulates on the radiative forcing of the atmosphere.     

Temporal associations of life with solar and geophysical activity

In biology, circadian rhythms with a period of one cycle in 20–28 h are known to be ubiquitous and partly endogenous. Rhythms with a frequency lower than one cycle per day are called ‘infradian rhythms’. Among them are components with one cycle in about 3.5, 7, 14 and 28 days, the multiseptans, which, like the circadians, must be regarded as a general characteristic of life: they characterize unicells as well as much more differentiated organisms. We hypothesize that heliogeophysical factors other than the solar visible light, held responsible for the evolution of circadian periodicity, underlie the infradian rhythms of biosystems. The periodicities in the solar wind and variations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) which are associated with the solar rotation are very similar in length to the biological periodicities. We investigate the temporal relations of variations in solar activity and in biological systems to test associations between events in the IMF, in geomagnetic disturbance, in myocardial infarction and in physiology. By cross-spectral analysis, we also find relations at certain frequencies between changes in human physiology on the one hand, and (1) the vertical component of the induction vector of the IMF, B_z, and (2) a global index of geomagnetic disturbance, Kp, on the other hand. We wish to stimulate interest in these periodicities of both biological systems and geophysical endpoints among physicists and biologists alike, so that problems relevant to clinicians and other biologists, including evolutionists, are eventually solved by their cooperation with the geophysical community.     

Stratospheric circumpolar vortex as a link between solar activity and circulation of the lower atmosphere

Possible reasons for the temporal variability of solar activity (SA) and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) effects on the tropospheric circulation are studied. Long-term variations in the amplitude and sign of SA/GCR effects are shown to be closely related to the state of the stratospheric circumpolar vortex. A ??60-year periodicity was detected the vortex strength which affects the evolution of the large-scale atmospheric circulation. It is shown that the correlation coefficients between pressure in the troposphere and SA/GCR characteristics change the sign in the periods of transformations of the large-scale circulation caused by changes in the state of the vortex. The obtained results suggest an important part of the circumpolar vortex in the mechanism of solar-climate links.     

Relation between variations in the characteristics of the high-latitude atmosphere and solar cosmic factors

Daily temperatures at high latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres and the corresponding levels of currents of solar protons and the PC, Ap, and Dst magnetic indices are considered. The character of variations in the surface temperature depending on these indices in different seasons during strong magnetic storms, when the Dst amplitude was smaller than ?50, has been indicated. The relationship of the indices in southern and northern atmospheric oscillations (SOI and NAO) to the Ap indices has been revealed. The monthly average Ap amplitude increases before the El Nino warm period, when the SOI index decreases from 0 to ?1.5 and the NAO index increases from ?0.5 to 0.9. The La Nina cold period, when SOI increases from ?0.1 to 1.3 and NAO decreases from 0.7 to ?0.45, begins after a decrease in the Ap index.     

Variations in the index of refraction of the atmosphere

Summary This paper discusses the atmospheric refractive index (a) throughout the year at the surface of the earth and (b) for each season in various air masses. Mean monthly or seasonal values, respectively, are employed.The annual variation in the refractive index at the earth's surface is examined by noting the contributions of the optical and the water vapor terms. The former exhibits a sinusoidal variation with a period of a year, having a maximum in winter and a minimum during summer. The amplitude of the cycle is latitude dependent, appearing greater in polar than in tropical regions. The magnitude of the water vapor term is more strongly dependent upon both season and latitude. Excepting areas where the dew point changes little from month to month, the water vapor term attains a single yearly maximum at about mid July.Graphs of the variation of refiactive index with altitude for the major air masses are included. Highest values of the index up to a height of 6 km are found in tropical maritime and monsoon air masses; lowest values, in arctic air masses. The rate of decrease of refractive index with height is usually quite different for diverse air masses. From the surface to an altitude of 6 km, the most constant rate of decrease with altitude, considering all air mass types, was found in the superior air mass.     

Effect of solar radiation refraction on the zenith angle and times of the sunrise and sunset in the atmosphere

The analytical formulas for the solar radiation refraction angle and the times of the sunrise and sunset at altitudes of the atmosphere, which make it possible to take into account the dependence of these parameters on the temperature, density, and temperature vertical gradient in the atmosphere specified at the ground level, have been obtained. It has been indicated that solar radiation refraction pronouncedly affects the times of the sunrise and sunset at altitudes of the atmosphere.     

Mid-latitude summer response of the middle atmosphere to short-term solar UV changes

Temperature and wind data obtained with Rayleigh lidar since 1979 and Russian rockets since 1964 are analyzed to deduce the summer response of the middle atmosphere to short-term solar UV changes. The equivalent width of the 1083 nm He I line is used as a proxy to monitor the short-term UV flux changes. Spectral analyses are performed on 108-day windows to extract the 27-day component from temperature, wind and solar data sets. Linear regressions between these spectral harmonics show some significant correlations around 45 km at mid-latitudes. For large 27-day solar cycles, amplitudes of 2 K and 6 m s⁻¹ are calculated for temperature data series over the south of France (44°N), and on wind data series over Volgograd (49°N), respectively. Cross-spectrum analyses have indicated correlations between these atmospheric parameters and the solar proxy with a phase lag of less than 2 days. These statistically correlative results, which provide good qualitative agreement with numerical simulations, are both obtained at mid-latitude. However, the observed amplitudes are larger than expected, with numerical models suggesting that dynamical processes such as equatorial or gravity waves may be responsible.     

Satellite solar occultation sounding of the middle atmosphere

This paper discusses the principles, achievements, and prospects for satellite solar occultation sounding of the middle atmosphere. Advantages, disadvantages, and spatial and temporal coverage capabilities are described. Progress over the past 15 years is reviewed, and results from a recent satellite aerosol experiment are presented. Questions with regard to Doppler shift, atmosphric refraction, instrument pointing, pressure sensing, and measurement of diurnally active species are addressed. Two experiments now orbiting on the Nimbus-7 and AEM-B satellites, and approved experiments under development for future flights on Spacelab and the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, are also described. In some cases more than one experiment is scheduled to be flown on the same spacecraft, and the advantages and synergistic effects of these applications are discussed.     

Variations of solar EUV,UV and ionospheric foF2 related to the solar rotation period

Spectral analysis of daily values of various solar indices viz. sunspot number, 10.7-cm flux, H Lyman-<alpha> and -<beta>, specific He, Fe and Mg lines and solar X-rays was carried out for two selected intervals. During interval A (May-August 1978, 123 days) the solar indices showed a prominent periodicity near 27 days, while during interval B (January-May 1979, 151 days) the solar indices showed a prominent periodicity near 13 days. For the same intervals, foF2 (max) and foF2 (average) during 1000–1500 LT were similarly analysed for the locations Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil (23○S, 45○W), and Okinawa (26○N, 128○E) and Kokubunji (36○N, 139○E) in Japan. The 27-day and 13-day periodicities in solar indices were reflected in the foF2 series, but in different relative proportions at the three locations, probably due to the interference of local aerodynamical effects. Some other periodicities were common to solar indices and foF2, while some others were present in the solar indices but not in foF2, or vice versa.     

Approximation of the infra-red radiation flux in an atmosphere with cloud

Summary A three-stream infra-red radiation scheme for use particularly in boundary layer models is described. Local uniformity of the atmosphere (i.e. a generalization of the cooling to space approximation in clear air) is assumed, and the radiation equation is solved by simple collocation rather than by the full discrete ordinate method. In clear air the scheme corresponds to the usual approximation, which incorporates the Elsasser factor in the transmission function to account for diffuse radiation. The band models of Goody for water vapour and Elsasser for carbon dioxide are used for the band averaging of the transmission functions. Consistent with this, the band averaging of the radiation flux in cloud is undertaken by replacing the rapidly varying absorption coefficients for the gases by the actual band-averaged values of those coefficients. The band averaging is precise in the limits of strong and weak gaseous absorption.     

Ejection and descent of matter in the solar atmosphere

The descent and ejection of matter in the solar atmosphere observed in the CaII 8498-Å line have been studied. In the NOAA active region no. 10 792 on July 30, 2005 before the flare, the dense cold gas cloud descended with a ray velocity of ～8 km/s and then ascended in the impulsive phase. The plasma ascended with an acceleration reaching 0.4 km/s² in the flare maximum. The acceleration of the matter likely continued after the flare maximum, because an acceleration of higher than 0.5 km/s² was required for the appearance of the ejection at the edge of the occulting disk of the LASCO C2 coronagraph at 0557 UT. The descent of the matter resulting in the local heating of the chromosphere was also observed in the NOAA active region no. 10656 on August 9, 2004 before the flare. The maximum descent velocity was no more than 24.7 km/s.     

General circulation of the solar atmosphere from observational evidence

Summary One of the main results of the rotating cylinder experiments ofFultz andHide is that the general flow regime in them is essentially determined by the ratio of the angular velocity of the fluid motions (relative to the cylinder) to that of the cylinder itself. Extending these results to the atmosphere of the sun, leads to the hypothesis that the layer in which spots are imbedded should exhibit a non-axially symmetric pattern, of theRossby type.The fluid motions, characteristic of such a general circulation pattern, are mainly along spherical surfaces, and have a wavelike (eddy) appearance similar to the planetary waves in the upper troposphere of the terrestrial atmosphere. These eddies transport momentum along these spherical surfaces from regions of relatively lower angular velocity to regions of higher velocity. Tracers (e.g., sunspots) imbedded is such a flow would show a correlation between their proper motions in latitude and longitude, such that spots moving equatorward will tend to have larger longitudinal motions (toward the west limb), and vice versa.Analysis of ten years (1935 to 1944) of Greenwich spot data shows a consistent, and (statistically) very significant correlation of spot group proper motions, in the proper sense. These results provide strong support for the existence of large-scale waves which are some modest fraction of the solar circumference, but larger than the sunspot groups. Moreover, these waves transport angular momentum (up the gradient of angular velocity) toward the equatorial regions from higher latitudes across at least the entire sunspot zone. It is not known, however, whether these eddies are the primary (or only) source of momentum to maintain the equatorial acceleration of the sun. However, if this source were shut off, and all other processes continued unabated, this layer of the sun between latitudes ±20° would reach solid rotation in about 51/2 rotations.Because this eddy transport of momentum is counter to the gradient of angular velocity, there is an implied transformation of the kinetic energy of the eddies into the kinetic energy of the mean east-west flow. Of possibly even more interest, however, might be the possibility of transfers of kinetic energy between eddies of all different scale sizes extending down the entire spectrum to include sunspot groups and the spots themselves. Moreover, some eddy size(s) in this layer is likely to be primarily responsible for a conversion of potential to kinetic energy.A result of subsidiary interest is the systematically higher value of solar rotation (at all latitudes) derivable from this data, which includes all spots which survive for at least two days. In contrast to the work of previous authors who used only long-lived spots, the result obtained when many small spots are used, indicates perhaps a variation of the rotation rate with height in the solar atmosphere.The results provide no evidence to indicate the existence of significant meridional circulations (latitudinal driffs).     

Dynamical coupling of the lower and middle atmosphere historical background to current research

The role of both gravity waves and planetary wave in coupling the circulation in the middle atmosphere with that in the troposphere is now well appreciated. The present article reveiws the history of the study of middle atmospheric dynamics and ets coupling with the lower atmosphere. The emphasis is on early developments, principally those before the 1970's     

Study of spatial and temporal structure of long-term effects of solar activity and cosmic ray variations on the lower atmosphere circulation

The spatial and temporal structure of the effects of solar activity (SA) and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux variations on the lower atmosphere circulation has been studied based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis archive for 1948–2006 and MSLP (Climatic Research Unit, UK) data for 1873–2000. It has been shown that the GCR effects on pressure variations are characterized by a strong latitudinal and regional dependence, which is determined by specific features of the tropospheric circulation in the studied regions. The distribution of the correlation coefficients for mean yearly values of atmospheric pressure with the GCR flux intensity is closely related to the position of the main climatological fronts. The periodic (∼60 years) changes in the correlation sign of the pressure at high and middle latitudes with Wolf numbers have been revealed. It has been suggested that the changes of the sign of SA/GCR effects on atmospheric pressure are caused by the changes of the macrocirculation epochs, which, in turn, may be related to large-scale processes on the Sun.     

Relationship of the Van Allen radiation belts to solar wind drivers

Discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts by instrumentation flown on Explorer 1 in 1958 was the first major discovery of the Space Age. A view of the belts as distinct inner and outer zones of energetic particles with different sources was modified by observations made during the Cycle 22 maximum in solar activity in 1989–1991, the first approaching the activity level of the International Geophysical Year of 1957–1958. The dynamic variability of outer zone electrons was measured by the NASA–Air Force Combined Radiation Release and Effects Satellite launched in July 1990. This variability is caused by distinct types of heliospheric structure which vary with the solar cycle. The largest fluxes averaged over a solar rotation occur during the declining phase from solar maximum, when high-speed streams and co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) dominate the inner heliosphere, leading to recurrent storms. Intense episodic events driven by high-speed interplanetary shocks launched by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) prevail around solar maximum when CMEs occur most frequently. Only about half of moderate storms, defined by intensity of the ring current, lead to an overall flux increase, emphasizing the need to quantify loss as well as source processes; both increase when the magnetosphere is strongly driven. Three distinct types of acceleration are described in this review: prompt and diffusive radial transport, which increases energy while conserving the first invariant, and local acceleration by waves, which change the first invariant. The latter also produce pitch angle diffusion and loss, as does outward radial transport, especially when the magnetosphere is compressed. The effect of a dynamic magnetosphere boundary on radiation belt electrons is described in the context of MHD-test particle simulations driven by measured solar wind input.     

Instability of a thin magnetic tube in the solar atmosphere

Abstract

The static equilibrium of a thin vertical magnetic tube embedded in the solar atmosphere is shown to be dynamically unstable against the fundamental mode of perturbation having no nodes in the vertical displacement. The instability has its origin in the convection zone, and the eigenfunction is extended further up in the stable upper layers by the magnetic field which guides the displacement mainly in the longitudinal direction. It is suggested that the downdraft observed in the solar network structure is a finite amplitude consequence of this instability. The overtone modes are found to be stable.     

Energy spectrum of X-ray flares associated with sunspot groups of different classes in three solar cycles

The integral energies of flares associated with active regions of different classes of sunspot groups were calculated on the basis of direct measurements of X-ray fluxes from flares (1–8Å, GOES) for three solar cycles (1977–2007). The integral energy spectra were constructed, and their indices β were calculated for flares in active regions of each class. It was established that the value of parameter β is different for the active regions of different classes. A positive correlation between this parameter and the 11-year cycle (the Wolf number) was revealed for each class. Parameter β is related to the 22-year magnetic cycle. Our results can be used in the dynamo and flare theories.