Volumetric data of normal nucleus accumbens from magnetic resonance imaging scans

Backgrounds and aims. The nucleus accumbens (AcN) belongs to the ventral striatum and it is involved in several neuropsychiatric disorders. In contrast to other subcortical structures, the number of morphometric studies that concern the healthy nucleus is limited. This study aims to investigate the normal volumetric data of the AcN as derived from a large number of manually segmented magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Methods. The measurements were performed in 106 MRI scans of healthy adults. The resulting volumes have been analyzed for differences related to hemisphere, sex and age. Results. The mean AcN volume was estimated at 473.3 mm3 (SD=±106.8). A slight interhemispheric difference in favor of the left side was found, the value of which was, however, within the limits of the method error. There were no sexual dimorphism signs concerning both the raw and the normalized volumes. A negative correlation between volumes and age was observed only in males. Conclusions. The study provides normal volumetric data of the AcN, useful in the conduct of comparative imaging and post-mortem studies in pathological conditions

Variability in a four-network composite of atmospheric CO₂ differences between three primary baseline sites

Spatial differences in the monthly baseline CO2 since 1992 from Mauna Loa (mlo, 19.5∘ N, 155.6∘ W, 3379 m), Cape Grim (cgo, 40.7∘ S, 144.7∘ E, 94 m), and South Pole (spo, 90∘ S, 2810 m) are examined for consistency between four monitoring networks. For each site pair, a composite based on the average of NOAA, CSIRO, and two independent Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) analysis methods is presented. Averages of the monthly standard deviations are 0.25, 0.23, and 0.16 ppm for mlo–cgo, mlo–spo, and cgo–spo respectively. This high degree of consistency and near-monthly temporal differentiation (compared to CO2 growth rates) provide an opportunity to use the composite differences for verification of global carbon cycle model simulations. Interhemispheric CO2 variation is predominantly imparted by the mlo data. The peaks and dips of the seasonal variation in interhemispheric difference act largely independently. The peaks mainly occur in May, near the peak of Northern Hemisphere (NH) terrestrial photosynthesis/respiration cycle. February–April is when interhemispheric exchange via eddy processes dominates, with increasing contributions from mean transport via the Hadley circulation into boreal summer (May–July). The dips occur in September, when the CO2 partial pressure difference is near zero. The cross-equatorial flux variation is large and sufficient to significantly influence short-term Northern Hemisphere growth rate variations. However, surface–air terrestrial flux anomalies would need to be up to an order of magnitude larger than found to explain the peak and dip CO2 difference variations. Features throughout the composite CO2 difference records are inconsistent in timing and amplitude with air–surface fluxes but are largely consistent with interhemispheric transport variations. These include greater variability prior to 2010 compared to the remarkable stability in annual CO2 interhemispheric difference in the 5-year relatively El Niño-quiet period 2010–2014 (despite a strong La Niña in 2011), and the 2017 recovery in the CO2 interhemispheric gradient from the unprecedented El Niño event in 2015–2016.

Variability in a four-network composite of atmospheric CO₂ differences between three primary baseline sites

Spatial differences in the monthly baseline CO2 since 1992 from Mauna Loa, (mlo, 19.5° N, 155.6° W, 3379 m), Cape Grim (cgo, 40.7° S, 144.7° E, 94 m) and South Pole (spo, 90° S, 2810 m), are examined for consistency between four monitoring networks. For each site pair, a composite based on the average of NOAA, CSIRO and two independent SIO analysis methods is presented. Averages of the monthly standard deviations are 0.25, 0.23 and 0.16 ppm for mlo-cgo, mlo-spo and cgo-spo respectively. This high degree of consistency and near-monthly temporal differentiation (compared to CO2 growth rates) provides an opportunity to use the composite differences for verification of global carbon cycle model simulations. Interhemispheric CO2 variation is predominantly imparted by the mlo data. The peaks and dips of the seasonal variation in interhemispheric difference act largely independently. The peaks mainly occur in May, near the peak of Northern Hemisphere terrestrial respiration. Boreal spring is when interhemispheric exchange via eddy processes dominates, with increasing contributions from mean transport into boreal summer. The dips occur in September, when the CO2 partial pressure difference is near zero, just after the peak in the mean interhemispheric exchange via the Hadley circulation. Surface-air terrestrial flux anomalies would need to be up to an order of magnitude larger than found in order to explain the peak and dip CO2 variations (large enough to significantly influence short-term northern hemisphere growth rate variations). Recent features in the composite records, inconsistent in timing and amplitude with air-surface fluxes, are largely consistent with interhemispheric transport variations. These include the remarkable stability in annual CO2 inter-hemispheric difference in the 5-year relatively ENSO-quiet period 2010–2014, and the 2017 recovery in the CO2 interhemispheric gradient from the unprecedented ENSO event in 2015–16.

Unprecedented strength of Hadley circulation in 2015–2016 impacts on CO₂ interhemispheric difference

The extreme El Niño of 2015 and 2016 coincided with record global warming and unprecedented strength of the Hadley circulation with significant impact on mean interhemispheric (IH) transport of CO2. The relative roles of eddy transport and mean advective transport on interannual differences in CO2 concentration between Mauna Loa and Cape Grim (Cmlo−cgo), from 1992 through to 2016, are explored. Eddy transport processes occur mainly in boreal winter–spring when Cmlo−cgo is large; an important component is due to Rossby wave generation by the Himalayas and propagation through the equatorial Pacific westerly duct generating and transmitting turbulent kinetic energy. Mean transport occurs mainly in boreal summer–autumn and varies with the strength of the Hadley circulation. The timing of annual changes in Cmlo−cgo is found to coincide well with dynamical indices that we introduce to characterize the transport. During the unrivalled 2009–2010 step in Cmlo−cgo, the effects of the eddy and mean transport were reinforced. In contrast, for the 2015 to 2016 change in Cmlo−cgo, the mean transport counteracts the eddy transport and the record strength of the Hadley circulation determines the annual IH CO2 difference. The interaction of increasing global warming and extreme El Niños may have important implications for altering the balance between eddy and mean IH CO2 transfer. The effects of interannual changes in mean and eddy transport on interhemispheric gradients in other trace gases are also examined.

Monitoring Global Tropospheric OH Concentrations using Satellite Observations of Atmospheric Methane

The hydroxyl radical (OH) is the main tropospheric oxidant and is the largest sink for atmospheric methane. The global abundance of OH has been monitored for the past decades with the methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) proxy. This approach is becoming ineffective as atmospheric CH3CCl3 concentrations decline. Here we propose that satellite observations of atmospheric methane in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) can provide an effective replacement method. The premise is that the atmospheric signature of the methane sink from oxidation by OH is distinct from that of methane emissions. We evaluate this method in an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) framework using synthetic SWIR and TIR satellite observations representative of the TROPOMI and CrIS instruments, respectively. The synthetic observations are interpreted with a Bayesian inverse analysis optimizing both gridded methane emissions and global OH concentrations with detailed error accounting, including errors in meteorological fields and in OH distributions. We find that the satellite observations can constrain the global tropospheric OH concentrations with a precision better than 1 % and an accuracy of about 3 % for SWIR and 7 % for TIR. The inversion can successfully separate contributions from methane emissions and OH concentrations to the methane budget and its trend. We also show that satellite methane observations can constrain the interhemispheric difference in OH. The main limitation to the accuracy is uncertainty in the spatial and seasonal distribution of OH.

Unprecedented strength of Hadley circulation in 2015–2016 impacts on CO₂ interhemispheric difference

The extreme El Niño of 2015 and 2016 coincided with record global warming and unprecedented strength of the Hadley circulation with significant impact on mean interhemispheric (IH) transport of CO2 and on the difference in CO2 concentration between Mauna Loa and Cape Grim (Cmlo-cgo). The relative roles of eddy transport and mean advective transport on IH CO2 annual differences from 1992 through to 2016 is explored. Eddy transport processes occur mainly in boreal winter-spring when Cmlo-cgo is large; an important component is due to Rossby wave generation by the Himalayas and propagation through the equatorial Pacific westerly duct generating and transmitting turbulent kinetic energy. Mean transport occurs mainly in boreal summer-autumn and varies with the strength of the Hadley circulation. The timing of annual changes in Cmlo-cgo is found to coincide well with dynamical indices that we introduce to characterize the transports. During the unrivalled 2009–2010 step in Cmlo-cgo indices of eddy and mean transport reinforce. In contrast for the 2015 to 2016 change in Cmlo-cgo the mean transport counteracts the eddy transport and the record strength of the Hadley circulation determines the annual IH CO2 difference. The interaction of increasing global warming and extreme El Niños may have important implications for altering the balance between eddy and mean IH CO2 transfer.

Observations of ozone-poor air in the Tropical Tropopause Layer

Ozonesondes reaching the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) over the West Pacific have occasionally measured layers of very low ozone concentrations – less than 15 ppbv – raising the question of how prevalent such layers are and how they are formed. In this paper we examine aircraft measurements from the ATTREX, CAST and CONTRAST campaigns based in Guam in January–March 2014 for evidence of very low ozone concentrations and their relation to deep convection. The study builds on results from the ozonesonde campaign conducted from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as part of CAST, where ozone concentrations as low as 12 ppbv were observed between 100 and 150 hPa downwind of a deep convective complex. TTL measurements from the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft show a marked contrast between the hemispheres, with mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Southern Hemisphere between 100 hPa and 150 hPa of between 10.5 ppbv and 14.2 ppbv. By contrast, the mean ozone concentrations in profiles in the Northern Hemisphere were always above 15 ppbv and normally above 20 ppbv at these altitudes. The CAST and CONTRAST aircraft sampled the atmosphere between the surface and 120 hPa, finding very low ozone concentrations only between the surface and 700 hPa; mixing ratios as low as 7 ppbv were regularly measured in the boundary layer, whereas in the free troposphere above 200 hPa concentrations were generally well in excess of 15 ppbv. These results are consistent with uplift of almost-unmixed boundary layer air to the TTL in deep convection. An interhemispheric difference was found in the TTL ozone concentrations, with values