A Synoptic View of the Onset of the Mid-Latitude QBO Signal

The extratropical effect of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), known as the Holton-Tan effect, is manifest as aweaker, warmer winter Arctic polar vortex during the east QBO phase. While previous studies have shown that the extratropical QBO signal is caused by the modified propagation of planetary waves in the stratosphere, the mechanism dominating the onset and seasonal development of the Holton-Tan effects remains unclear. Here, the governing wave-mean flow dynamics of the early winter extratropical QBO signal onset and its reversibility is investigated on a synoptic timescale with a finite-amplitude diagnostic using reanalysis and a chemistry-climate model. The extratropical QBO signal onset in October is found to primarily result from modulated stratospheric life-cycles of wave pulses entering the stratosphere from the troposphere, rather than from a modulation of their tropospheric wave source. A comprehensive analysis of the wave activity budget during fall, when the stratospheric winter polar vortex starts forming and waves start propagating up into the stratosphere, shows significant differences. During the east QBO phase, the deceleration of the mid-high latitude stratospheric zonal mean jet by the upward propagating wave pulses is less reversible, due to stronger dissipation processes, while during the west phase, a more reversible deceleration of the main polar vortex is found owing to the waves being dissipated at lower latitudes, accompanied by a weak but different response of the tropospheric subtropical jet. From this synoptic wave-event viewpoint, the early season onset of the Holton-Tan effect results from the cumulative effect of the QBO dependent wave-induced deceleration during the life cycle of individual upward wave pulses.

Information on gravitational mass movements obtained from the spectrograms of their seismic signals generated

<p>An understanding of the characteristics of a mass movement descending a slope enables us to obtain a better control through models and also to reduce its associated risks. The seismic signals generated by the mass movement are mainly caused by friction of the moving mass on the ground. Most of the studies of the seismic signals use the spectrograms as a complementary information of the signals. Our study seeks to expand the current applications of the spectrograms using the information contained in them. A spectrogram represents the evolution in time of the frequency content of a time series. It can also be read as a 3D representation of amplitude, frequency and time of the seismic signal. The spectrograms of the seismic signals generated by a mass movement that descend a slope and approach a seismic sensor can be divided into sections: SON (Signal ONset), SOV (Signal Over) and SEN (Signal End), depending on whether the gravitational mass movement is approaching the sensor, is on it or is moving away from it.</p><p>The method presented here consist of analyzing the spectrogram as an image, applying image processing techniques as “Hough Transform”. This method allows us to obtain quantitative information from the spectrograms. Our aim is to obtain the parameters of the shape of the spectrograms, focused on SON section, to create indicators linked to the evolution of the mass movement, for example the speed. The method is applied to spectrograms of three types of gravitational mass movements: snow avalanches (7), lahars (4), and debris flows (1). The results indicate similarities in the shape of the spectrograms of the different types of mass movement, prevailing, however, the specific characteristics of each type.</p>

Estimation of Avalanche Development and Frontal Velocities Based on the Spectrogram of the Seismic Signals Generated at the Vallée de la Sionne Test Site

The changes in the seismic signals generated by avalanches recorded at three sites along a path at the Vallée de la Sionne (VdlS) experimental site are presented. We discuss and correlate the differences in the duration, signal amplitudes, and frequency content of the sections (Signal ONset (ON), Signal Body (SBO), and Signal TAil and Signal ENd STA-SEN) of the spectrograms with the evolution of the powder, transitional and wet snow avalanches along a path. The development of the avalanche front was quantified using the exponential function in time F (t) = K’ exp (β t) fitted to the shape of the signal ONset (SON section of the spectrogram. The speed of the avalanche front is contained in β. To this end, a new method was developed. The three seismic components were converted into one seismic component (FS), when expressing the vector in polar coordinates. We linked the theoretical function of the shape of the FS-SON section of the spectrogram to the numerical coefficients of its shape after considering the spectrogram as an image. This allowed us to obtain the coefficients K’ and β. For this purpose, the Hough Transform (HT) was applied to the image. The values of the resulting coefficients K’ and β are included in different ranges in accordance with the three types of avalanche. Curves created with these coefficients enable us to estimate the development of the different avalanche types along the path. Our results show the feasibility of classifying the type of avalanche through these coefficients. Average speeds of the avalanches approaching the recording sites were estimated. The speed values of wet and transitional avalanches are consistent with those derived from GEODAR (GEOphysical Doppler radAR) measurements, when available. The absence of agreement in the speed values obtained from seismic signals and GEODAR measurements for powder snow avalanches indicates, for this type of avalanche, a different source of the measured signal. Hence, the use of the two measuring systems proves to be complementary.

Chimpanzees use tree species with a resonant timbre for accumulative stone throwing

Animals use tools for communication relatively rarely compared to tool use for extractive foraging. We investigated the tool-use behaviour accumulative stone throwing (AST) in wild chimpanzees, who regularly throw rocks at trees, producing impact sounds and resulting in the aggregations of rocks. The function of AST remains unknown but appears to be communication-related. We conducted field experiments to test whether impact sounds produced by throwing rocks at trees varied according to the tree's properties. Specifically, we compared impact sounds of AST and non-AST tree species. We measured three acoustic descriptors related to intrinsic timbre quality, and found that AST tree species produced impact sounds that were less damped, with spectral energy concentrated at lower frequencies compared to non-AST tree species. Buttress roots in particular produced timbres with low-frequency energy (low spectral centroid) and slower signal onset (longer attack time). In summary, chimpanzees use tree species capable of producing more resonant sounds for AST compared to other tree species available.

Time-resolved 2-million-year-old supernova activity discovered in Earth’s microfossil record

Massive stars (M≳10 M⊙), which terminate their evolution as core-collapse supernovae, are theoretically predicted to eject >10−5M⊙ of the radioisotope 60Fe (half-life 2.61 Ma). If such an event occurs sufficiently close to our solar system, traces of the supernova debris could be deposited on Earth. Herein, we report a time-resolved 60Fe signal residing, at least partially, in a biogenic reservoir. Using accelerator mass spectrometry, this signal was found through the direct detection of live 60Fe atoms contained within secondary iron oxides, among which are magnetofossils, the fossilized chains of magnetite crystals produced by magnetotactic bacteria. The magnetofossils were chemically extracted from two Pacific Ocean sediment drill cores. Our results show that the 60Fe signal onset occurs around 2.6 Ma to 2.8 Ma, near the lower Pleistocene boundary, terminates around 1.7 Ma, and peaks at about 2.2 Ma.