The Eddy-Driven Thermocline

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 2642-2658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Cessi ◽  
Maurizio Fantini

Abstract The role of baroclinic eddies in transferring thermal gradients laterally, and thus determining the stratification of the ocean, is examined. The hypothesis is that the density differences imposed at the surface by differential heating are a source of available potential energy that can be partially released by mesocale eddies with horizontal scales on the order of 100 km. Eddy fluxes balance the diapycnal mixing of heat and thus determine the vertical scale of penetration of horizontal thermal gradients (i.e., the depth of the thermocline). This conjecture is in contrast with the current thinking that the deep stratification is determined by a balance between diapycnal mixing and the large-scale thermohaline circulation. Eddy processes are analyzed in the context of a rapidly rotating primitive equation flow driven by specified surface temperature, with isotropic diffusion and viscosity. The barotropic component of the eddies is found to be responsible for most of the heat flux, and so the eddy transport is horizontal rather than isopycnal. This eddy transport takes place in the shallow surface layer where eddies, as well as the mean temperature, undergo diabatic, irreversible mixing. Scaling laws for the depth of the thermocline as a function of the external parameters are proposed. In the classical thermocline theory, the depth of the thermocline depends on the diffusivity, the rotation rate, and the imposed temperature gradient. In this study the authors find an additional dependence on the viscosity and on the domain width.

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos J. Athanasiadis ◽  
Maarten H. P. Ambaum

Abstract An isentropic potential vorticity (PV) budget analysis is employed to examine the role of synoptic transients, advection, and nonconservative processes as forcings for the evolution of the low-frequency PV anomalies locally and those associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern. Specifically, the rate of change of the low-frequency PV is expressed as a sum of tendencies due to divergence of eddy transport, advection by the low-frequency flow (hereafter referred to as advection), and the residual nonconservative processes. The balance between the variances and covariances of these terms is illustrated using a novel vector representation. It is shown that for most locations, as well as for the PNA pattern, the PV variability is dominantly driven by advection. The eddy forcing explains a small amount of the tendency variance. For the NAO, the role of synoptic eddy fluxes is found to be stronger, explaining on average 15% of the NAO tendency variance. Previous studies have not assessed quantitively how the various forcings balance the tendency. Thus, such studies may have overestimated the role of eddy fluxes for the evolution of teleconnections by examining, for example, composites and regressions that indicate maintenance, rather than evolution driven by the eddies. The authors confirm this contrasting view by showing that during persistent blocking (negative NAO) episodes the eddy driving is relatively stronger.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth J. Ploran ◽  
Ericka Rovira ◽  
James C. Thompson ◽  
Raja Parasuraman

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 4486-4494 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.El Damrawi ◽  
F. Gharghar

Cerium oxide in borate glasses of composition xCeO2·(50 − x)PbO·50B2O3 plays an important role in changing both microstructure and magnetic behaviors of the system. The structural role of CeO2 as an effective agent for cluster and crystal formation in borate network is clearly evidenced by XRD technique. Both structure and size of well-formed cerium separated clusters have an effective influence on the structural properties. The cluster aggregations are documented to be found in different range ordered structures, intermediate and long range orders are the most structures in which cerium phases are involved. The nano-sized crystallized cerium species in lead borate phase are evidenced to have magnetic behavior.  The criteria of building new specific borate phase enriched with cerium as ferrimagnetism has been found to keep the magnetization in large scale even at extremely high temperature. Treating the glass thermally or exposing it to an effective dose of ionized radiation is evidenced to have an essential change in magnetic properties. Thermal heat treatment for some of investigated materials is observed to play dual roles in the glass matrix. It can not only enhance alignment processes of the magnetic moment but also increases the capacity of the crystallite species in the magnetic phases. On the other hand, reverse processes are remarked under the effect of irradiation. The magnetization was found to be lowered, since several types of the trap centers which are regarded as defective states can be produced by effect of ionized radiation. 


e-Finanse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-76
Author(s):  
Piotr Bartkiewicz

AbstractThe article presents the results of the review of the empirical literature regarding the impact of quantitative easing (QE) on emerging markets (EMs). The subject is of interest to policymakers and researchers due to the increasingly larger role of EMs in the world economy and the large-scale capital flows occurring after 2009. The review is conducted in a systematic manner and takes into consideration different methodological choices, samples and measurement issues. The paper puts the summarized results in the context of transmission channels identified in the literature. There are few distinct methodological approaches present in the literature. While there is a consensus regarding the direction of the impact of QE on EMs, its size and durability have not yet been assessed with sufficient precision. In addition, there are clear gaps in the empirical findings, not least related to relative underrepresentation of the CEE region (in particular, Poland).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Sun ◽  
Disa Sauter

Getting old is generally seen as unappealing, yet aging confers considerable advantages in several psychological domains (North & Fiske, 2015). In particular, older adults are better off emotionally than younger adults, with aging associated with the so-called “age advantages,” that is, more positive and less negative emotional experiences (Carstensen et al., 2011). Although the age advantages are well established, it is less clear whether they occur under conditions of prolonged stress. In a recent study, Carstensen et al (2020) demonstrated that the age advantages persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that older adults are able to utilise cognitive and behavioural strategies to ameliorate even sustained stress. Here, we build on Carstensen and colleagues’ work with two studies. In Study 1, we provide a large-scale test of the robustness of Carstensen and colleagues’ finding that older individuals experience more positive and less negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured positive and negative emotions along with age information in 23,629 participants in 63 countries in April-May 2020. In Study 2, we provide a comparison of the age advantages using representative samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that older people experience less negative emotion than younger people during the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the advantage of older adults was diminished during the pandemic, pointing to a likely role of older adults use of situation selection strategies (Charles, 2010).


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 39-44
Author(s):  
J. Holas ◽  
M. Konvicková

Potential environmental impacts as a result of large-scale farming system in the Czech Republic have created a great deal of concern in recent years. This concern has led to several studies to identify the role of new regulations, directives and other legislative issues in the field of water pollution control. The set of legislative tools related to watershed management policy to promote better agricultural practices is shortly reviewed. The paper emphasises the running water law system amendment with respect to European community water quality regulations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Effimia Zacharia ◽  
Nikolaos Papageorgiou ◽  
Adam Ioannou ◽  
Gerasimos Siasos ◽  
Spyridon Papaioannou ◽  
...  

During the last few years, a significant number of studies have attempted to clarify the underlying mechanisms that lead to the presentation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Inflammation is a key component of the pathophysiological processes that lead to the development of AF; the amplification of inflammatory pathways triggers AF, and, in tandem, AF increases the inflammatory state. Indeed, the plasma levels of several inflammatory biomarkers are elevated in patients with AF. In addition, the levels of specific inflammatory biomarkers may provide information regarding to the AF duration. Several small studies have assessed the role of anti-inflammatory treatment in atrial fibrillation but the results have been contradictory. Large-scale studies are needed to evaluate the role of inflammation in AF and whether anti-inflammatory medications should be routinely administered to patients with AF.


Author(s):  
Clement Guitton

Attribution — tracing those responsible for a cyber attack — is of primary importance when classifying it as a criminal act, an act of war, or an act of terrorism. Three assumptions dominate current thinking: attribution is a technical problem; it is unsolvable; and it is unique. Approaching attribution as a problem forces us to consider it either as solved or unsolved. Yet attribution is far more nuanced, and is best approached as a process in constant flux, driven by judicial and political pressures. In the criminal context, courts must assess the guilt of criminals, mainly based on technical evidence. In the national security context, decision-makers must analyze unreliable and mainly non-technical information in order to identify an enemy of the state. Attribution in both contexts is political: in criminal cases, laws reflect society’s prevailing norms and powers; in national security cases, attribution reflects a state’s will to maintain, increase or assert its power. However, both processes differ on many levels. The constraints, which reflect common aspects of many other political issues, constitute the structure of the book: the need for judgment calls, the role of private companies, the standards of evidence, the role of time, and the plausible deniability of attacks.


Author(s):  
Anne Nassauer

This book provides an account of how and why routine interactions break down and how such situational breakdowns lead to protest violence and other types of surprising social outcomes. It takes a close-up look at the dynamic processes of how situations unfold and compares their role to that of motivations, strategies, and other contextual factors. The book discusses factors that can draw us into violent situations and describes how and why we make uncommon individual and collective decisions. Covering different types of surprise outcomes from protest marches and uprisings turning violent to robbers failing to rob a store at gunpoint, it shows how unfolding situations can override our motivations and strategies and how emotions and culture, as well as rational thinking, still play a part in these events. The first chapters study protest violence in Germany and the United States from 1960 until 2010, taking a detailed look at what happens between the start of a protest and the eruption of violence or its peaceful conclusion. They compare the impact of such dynamics to the role of police strategies and culture, protesters’ claims and violent motivations, the black bloc and agents provocateurs. The analysis shows how violence is triggered, what determines its intensity, and which measures can avoid its outbreak. The book explores whether we find similar situational patterns leading to surprising outcomes in other types of small- and large-scale events: uprisings turning violent, such as Ferguson in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015, and failed armed store robberies.


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